A Hundred of Beautiful Lives - Chapter 005

Ji Yang, supported by Yusui’er, ascended the phoenix carriage. Her procession would circle the entire city of Jizhou once before heading to the residence of Xinyang to hold the wedding ceremony.

Shen Du, clad in a red robe with a golden belt and riding a white horse with a carved saddle, led the way before the phoenix carriage.

Following Shen Du and before Ji Yang’s phoenix carriage were the Tiānwén Guān heavenly civil officials guiding the route, the princess’s ceremonial guard, lantern bearers, basin holders, staff bearers, and parasol-holders. Eight boys with hairpins in their hair and eight jade maidens holding flower pots accompanied the procession. There were also four peacock fans, four gold-threaded round fans, six travelling screens, and three sitting screens. The grand procession moved majestically into the city.

Within Jizhou City, the streets were adorned with vibrant decorations, ribbons, and lanterns to celebrate the marriage of the Marquess of Xinyang to a noble daughter of the imperial family. Eager to catch a glimpse of Princess Anle’s phoenix carriage as it entered the city, countless commoners had lined the streets since midnight, nearly the entire population of Jizhou had turned out to witness the spectacle.

The phoenix carriage that Ji Yang rode today was without four hanging side scrolls, allowing the common folk to witness the royal princess’s bearing. She sat upright, yet could not sit still for long, so from time to time she nodded slightly to the left or right, gesturing to the people, making all the gathered commoners feel in their hearts that Princess Anle was looking at them.

Ji Yang looked out through the golden chains dangling from her flower crown in front of her. The city of Jizhou was bustling with splendid buildings, pavilions standing tall like a forest, markets lined with treasures, and households adorned with silks and brocades. Its splendour rivalled that of Luòyáng. On both sides of the street, neatly constructed stone drains appeared every hundred meters, with exquisitely carved water urns for cleaning and fire prevention.

This north-south thoroughfare inside Jizhou City can accommodate ten carriages to travel side by side, a display of grandeur. Alongside the local people of Jizhou, Ji Yang also saw blue-eyed Westerners, bare-armed people from Liáodōng, and Huíhuí with white hats, as if people from all corners of the world had gathered here. On both sides of the street, shop signs abounded: wine taverns, vinegar shops, paper horse stores, steamed bun stalls, medicine shops, cloth stores, and even dedicated clinics.

Because today marked Princess Anle’s ceremonial departure from her maiden home and her marriage to the Marquess of Xinyang, the streets were exceedingly jubilant; peddlers, having seized the business opportunity, carried goods on their shoulders and backs, hawking fruit wine, candied fruit, sliced rice cakes, and stir-fried liver to the gathered common folk, their calls resounding without pause.

Jizhou Shen’s family had conducted business in Jibei for generations. Jizhou was as secure as a fortress of metal and soup, its people living in peace and prosperity. Merchants came from all directions, and even traders from beyond the Pass liked to do business in Jizhou. While the world was in chaos, Jizhou was the only city still regarded as a land of peace and happiness.

Women in beautiful clothes held flower baskets full of colourful petals. When the bridal procession was nearing them, they cheerfully threw petals at the groom, their laughter echoing joyfully through the streets.

Ji Yang could hear women laughing, “Bingo, bingo!” — likely because her petals had landed on Shen Du’s robe.

When Ji Yang saw the genuine smiles and laughter on these people’s faces, she realised that Shen Du must be deeply loved and respected by the people of Jizhou. It was something she had never seen on the faces of the people when she accompanied her Imperial Father and Imperial Mother on their inspection tours. They always looked sallow and malnourished, and had to be driven forward by soldiers before they were willing to come to the front to kowtow and pay their respects.

Sometimes, Ji Yang would slightly turn her head and smile at them. Though they could not see her face clearly, they would still open their mouths in astonishment, marvelling at the grandeur of the royal princess.

The grand ceremonial regalia had already been lost by the banks of the Zhāngshuǐ, only to be retrieved later by Shen Du’s subordinates. However, likely, many were still lost. It was no small feat for the Marquis’s residence to procure and prepare everything neatly again in Jizhou within just a dozen or so days.

After the elaborate rites—worshipping heaven and earth, paying respect to the ancestral hall, and performing the ritual of mutual bowing—Ji Yang, holding one end of the red silk, was led by Shen Du, who stepped into the bridal chamber.

The bridal chamber was situated in the Běi Yuàn, now the Gongzhu Fu. The room is vast and expansive. At its centre stands the wedding bed, draped with a “hundred sons and a thousand grandsons” canopy and spread with a matching quilt—everything in vivid, celebratory red.

After the bridesmaid finished reciting a series of auspicious phrases, a maid stepped forward and offered a tray to Shen Du, which held a gold star wedding scale.

Shen Du took the scale and slowly lifted Ji Yang’s red bridal veil embroidered with mandarin ducks playing in the water. Everyone held their breath, eager to glimpse the graceful beauty of Princess Anle, the only daughter of the peerless demon Empress. However, when they saw the gold chain dangling in front of the bride’s upturned face, a collective sigh of regret escaped them.

But Ji Yang had already peered through the gaps in the golden chain to see the room packed with noblewomen.

At this moment, Shen Du followed the bridesmaid’s gaze and direction, lifted his robe, and sat by Ji Yang’s side. Ji Yang turned slightly toward Shen Du and gently lowered her head. Shen Du raised his hand and gently lifted the gold bead chain in front of her face, placing it atop her flower crown.

When Ji Yang shyly lifted her head, it was the first time the whole room saw the true face of Princess Anle.

The bridal chamber, previously filled with giggles and mirth, fell into such a hush that even the faintest sound, like a needle dropping, could be heard. 

Moments later, someone sighed with emotion—though no one could tell who it was—and murmured, “There is no couple in the world more perfectly matched than them.”

Ji Yang’s eyes shimmered like water as she glanced at Shen Du shyly. In her heart, she thought: No wonder even a man must wear red at a wedding. It is because wearing red makes him incredibly good-looking, so dazzling that one cannot look away.

But the room was too quiet, and when Ji Yang turned her head to look to the side, she saw that everyone’s facial expressions looked strange, their smiles frozen as if solidified in place. Even the woman acting as the matchmaker was so stiff for a moment that she forgot to speak.

Though Empress Su was renowned across the land, the noblewomen in the room—each beautiful and proud in her own right—had always dismissed her fame as the result of seduction and cunning. It was nothing more than a case of Yelang’s arrogance until now. Only now, upon seeing Ji Yang in person, did they understand the bias of fate and its miraculousness.

These women, relatives of the Marquis’ household, knew some of the inside story of the princess’s marriage, and now all felt that for Anle to look this beautiful was bound to bring more trouble than peace.

Ji Yang was used to people’s loss of composure. After growing up, those who saw her for the first time always reacted this way. If they had not lost composure, it might have surprised her. Of course, Ji Yang noticed subtle changes in their expressions, but at that moment, she had no energy to waste on them. She could not help but look at Shen Du, seeking help.

Her gaze wandered, a fleeting glimmer of brilliance in her eyes. It stirred the heart and soul, leaving no room for refusal. Everyone sighed inwardly, realising that there was no need for any seductive tactics—her beauty, in both motion and stillness, was already at its most perfect, the epitome of grace and beauty.

Only Shen Du remained calm and composed when he saw Ji Yang’s expression. When Ji Yang looked at him for help, he raised his eyes, swept the room, and gently cleared his throat, which caused the matchmaker to snap out of her daze first.

She stuttered, struggling to speak clearly, “Please, bride and groom, drink the nuptial wine.”

The jade-carved hé jǐn cups, adorned with double phoenix motifs, were presented on a painted lacquer tray. The wine had a subtle astringency, symbolising the hope that the newlyweds would experience sweetness and bitterness together.

As they drank, the cups were connected, their foreheads nearly touched. Blushes spread across Ji Yang’s cheeks, making her already stunning beauty even more enchanting.

Indeed, her charm surpassed that of spring water melting ice, her beauty rivalling the finest silk from Shu. She was more radiant than the golden crow rising from the Eastern Mountain, her beauty overshadowing the ice mirror hanging in the long sky.

After this interlude, the matchmaker began singing the Canopy-Scattering Song, leading a group of women to throw money, flower petals, and auspicious fruits like joy dates, peanuts, and longans over the bride and groom.

“Scatter the curtains eastward, the deep boudoir’s candlelight glows red.

The auspicious aura lingers, never fading, while the painted hall is filled with spring breeze each day.”

……

“Spread the bed curtains to the north, a faint colour blossoms between the brows. In the warm hibiscus canopy, they pass a spring night, while the moon maiden bitterly invites the guest of the Moon Palace.”

In the ambiguous Canopy-Scattering Song, Ji Yang and Shen Du lifted their robes to catch as many festive fruits as possible. The more they gathered, the more harmonious their marriage, and the more children they would have.

After these ceremonies, Shen Du went to the outer hall to toast. As a princess, Ji Yang’s status meant the women dared not linger, so Yù Suì’ér and the maids escorted her to the cleansing room to change.

“This is too simple, right?” Yù Suì’ér said in shock as she looked at the bare purification room. Compared to the one with the white jade pool in the palace, it was like heaven and earth. Yù Suì’ér could not help but grumble, “And this is supposed to be a marquis’s mansion? It is so poor!”

This little girl had grown used to the extravagance of the palace, and ordinary riches no longer impressed her.

Two sturdy old maid servants carried in a steaming bathtub, bowed low in respect, and silently withdrew.

Ji Yang looked at the meter-high bathtub and felt somewhat unaccustomed, but her mind was distracted by something else. The line ‘the deep boudoir’s candle light glows red’ from the song of Canopy-Scattering Song made her cheeks flush with embarrassment, and she then thought about being married, having children, and raising a family.

Before leaving the palace, Empress Su had dismissed the palace ladies and personally instructed her daughter about the bridal chamber. She explained that rather than being understood through words, could only be truly grasped through experience. Thus, Empress Su summarised her years of experience with men in one sentence: “For that matter, just let go and enjoy it however you wish.”

This advice left Ji Yang feeling dazed and confused, not knowing how to enjoy it. But such matters were always inherently embarrassing.

Ji Yang didn’t like to apply too much hair oil, but today, as she had to wear her hair up with a crown, she inevitably used more. Yù Suì’ér and Lù Zhū’ér attended to her, assisting her with bathing and washing her hair. Fortunately, they retrieved all of her bridal belongings, and the bath and hair products she used were all from the palace, prepared by Empress Su and her. Her mother always knew what was best.

Ji Yang slipped on her soft satin shoes with pearl embellishments and left the purification room. Shen Du had not yet returned from the front. Yù Suì’ér and Lù Zhū’ér used towels to dry her hair strand by strand, wrapping it with the towels and holding an incense burner beneath to fumigate.

However, no incense cakes were burning in the burner. Ji Yang didn’t like their scent, she revered the natural fragrance. Moreover, since she was born, she had carried a natural fragrance that was more pleasant than any other perfume, so she preferred to use bath beans and hair products without added fragrances.

While Yù Suì’ér and the others were busy with all these tasks, Ji Yang happily had a bowl of bird’s nest porridge. In the past, things that would have made her frown, after going through the recent days of escaping and hunger, tasted sweet tonight. One must cherish the good fortune in life.

“Princess, should we ask Prince An to send word to the Empress and request new palace ladies?” Yù Suì’ér asked softly. After all, they were young and could not manage the situation. Facing the stern women of the Marquis’ household, with their faces like coffin lids, there was always a feeling of being unable to speak freely.

Who is Ji Yang? She had just flown out of her birdcage, quickly freed from those constraints, and had no patience for hearing the preachings of those self-important palace ladies. “No need. Without them, we would be freer. Can anyone here bully us?” she retorted.

Indeed, inexperience breeds naivety. Raised with utmost care by Empress Su, Ji Yang had been protected from the harsh winds and storms of the outside world. Despite the recent incident being risky, it wasn’t genuinely frightening for Ji Yang, as she had the protection of Li He and the others. She didn’t experience the full extent of the danger and instead saw it as another amusing story to share later.

Naturally, Ji Yang had her worries as well. She feared the palace women would come and speak ill of her husband. Her aunt and several older sisters had suffered at the hands of those unmarried palace ladies. Though they dared not openly criticise Ji Yang, who would want to face those scowling, aged faces?

Just as Ji Yang thought of Shen Du, she heard footsteps and greetings from outside.

[T/N: If you’re already familiar or prefer not to know, feel free to skip to the next chapter.

Meaning- Tiānwén Guān )heavenly civil officials or astronomical officials), Huíhuí (Muslims), gù ruò jīn tāng (fortress of metal and soup or impregnable fortress), Jibei (Northern region of Jizhou), hé jǐn jiǔ (Literally “joined-halves wine or ritual wine shared by the bride and groom on the wedding night)].