Chapter 135: Entering the Palace

Three days later, Fu Yan entered the palace in a grand procession, accompanied by two maids tasked with attending to her needs. The length of the ceremonial escort was a testament to the immense splendor of the occasion.

Fu Yan had meticulously prepared herself for the day, styling her hair into an elaborate "hidden bun" adorned with gold ornaments and decorating her forehead with delicate gold leaf. She wore a vibrant crimson gown with trailing ribbons and stepped into gilded bronze shoes embellished with five-petaled flowers, a look that rendered her profoundly elegant and magnificent.

"Father, I am leaving now." As she prepared to board the palanquin, Fu Yan bid farewell to her father, Liu Shijie. She knew that once she crossed the threshold into the palace—a place as deep and unfathomable as the sea—she would have to rely entirely on herself.

Though Liu Shijie was pleased, his eyes grew moist. She was, after all, the apple of his eye, whom he had cherished for many years. Despite his reluctance to let her go, he could only watch through tear-filled eyes, both of them harboring their own secret hopes for her future prospects.

As Fu Yan sat in the palanquin, her heart was not filled with pure joy. A voice deep within her kept reminding her:

"I wished to be bound to you, to love you until the end of time. Yet, you were foolishly obsessed with another, treating me like a blade of grass, discarding me like a worn-out shoe. How can I swallow this humiliation? Li Rui, you will regret this decision. I will make you witness my success."

Upon arriving at the Imperial City and entering the palace, Fu Yan knew this would be the "battlefield" where she would spend the rest of her life. Perhaps it was her good fortune, but less than two days after entering the palace, she was summoned to attend to the Emperor. This was, naturally, a matter of great celebration.

To be chosen so quickly was the "grand prize" for the new concubines, proving the "special" favor Emperor Li Zhen held for her. Tonight, she would truly become the Emperor’s woman.

Although the occasion lacked the traditional fanfare of a commoner’s wedding—the drums, the miles of red silk, the eight-bearer palanquin, and the phoenix coronet—Fu Yan sat poised before the bed, meticulously adorned and waiting nervously for the Emperor's arrival.

When the door was pushed open and she heard the palace maids offering their greetings, Fu Yan’s heart began to race. She heard light footsteps approaching. Through the translucent silk curtains, Emperor Li Zhen caught sight of her, her figure delicate and enchanting.

"Your concubine, the Lady Fu, greets Your Majesty!"

Seeing Li Zhen slowly lift the red silk canopy, Fu Yan hurriedly rose to offer her respects. Li Zhen stepped forward, taking her hands and gesturing for her to rise.

"Rise, Noble Lady Fu."

A blush spread across Fu Yan’s face. She was, after all, a sheltered young lady, and though she had received instruction regarding the intimacies of the bedchamber, the thought of what was to come made her heart flutter, her face flush, and her lips tremble with shyness.

This reaction was exactly to Li Zhen’s taste. Seeing her bashful demeanor and her captivating, soulful eyes, he could not restrain his desire. He swept her into his arms and carried her toward the dragon bed, drawing a flurry of startled, charming cries from her lips.

"Your Majesty..." A moment in the spring night is worth a thousand pieces of gold. Though the Emperor was a "bridegroom" every night, this night was destined to be one of unparalleled allure, a night of perfect union and boundless passion.

...

At the Prince Rui Mansion:

While these days were extraordinary for Fu Yan, representing a critical turning point that would define her life, Li Rui was also at a crossroads—a turning point in his own heart.

He hoped to cast aside the tangled complexities of the past and make a fresh start with Zhang Xiaolan. Yet, his heart was filled with apprehension, his thoughts in disarray. If he were to speak plainly to Zhang Xiaolan, would she understand? Would she be willing to become a bird in a gilded cage for his sake, hidden away from the world?

Li Rui reached into a secret compartment behind a portrait of the Princess in his study and retrieved a scroll. He unfurled it to reveal a painting. Upon closer inspection, the woman depicted was undoubtedly Zhang Xiaolan.