01
Princess Vinh Duong held a hairpin banquet, and the emperor personally bestowed hundreds of pots of precious flowers from the Imperial Garden. Since the princess wished to choose a daughter-in-law, half the noble young ladies in the capital came to attend.
I am the eldest daughter of Ta Linh Thu, a fourth-rank official in the Court of State Ceremonial. Among all those noble young ladies, my family background was only ordinary. Yet out of the countless ladies of distinction, the princess chose me alone.
Princess Vinh Duong was the emperor’s youngest sister. Though they had different mothers, she had been raised in the empress’s palace since childhood, and the bond between brother and sister ran deep.
When the princess came of age, she was granted in marriage to the Duke of Dingguo. The couple lived in harmony and stood together as one, making theirs a celebrated love story.
The princess’s only son, Huo Yan, was ennobled at birth and made heir to the Duke of Dingguo. His status was exalted, and he was destined to enjoy a lifetime of wealth and honor.
Among the noble young ladies in the capital, for anyone who didn’t want to enter the palace or marry a prince, Huo Yan was the most desirable husband.
Everyone said Huo Yan had a favored concubine whom he doted on above all others. She had once been a palace maid at Changxin Palace, and the empress dowager had given her to him after seeing how much he liked her.
However, young ladies raised in aristocratic families were used to seeing their fathers and brothers take three wives and four concubines, so this was nothing unusual.
The rule for this hairpin banquet was to choose a flower from the garden and wear it in one’s hair. Another banquet would be held three days later, at which everyone would present a work of art to honor the princess.
There were many talented young women in the capital, and they would all do their utmost to make an impression.
But I thought that if the princess wanted a talented daughter-in-law, she could simply ask around about their reputations. And if she wanted one from a suitable family, there was no need to hold such a grand banquet. Surely the families who had long been on friendly terms with them were distinguished enough?
The Duke of Dingguo had once taken the field and won many glorious victories, but Huo Yan would have no chance to earn such honors.
So when the princess chose a daughter-in-law, a family that was too exalted and wielded too much power would actually be a disadvantage.
What the princess needed was a daughter-in-law capable of shouldering the family’s responsibilities and helping Huo Yan in every way.
02
Three days later, some presented paintings, some wrote poems, and others made perfume from flowers. Each offering had its own charm.
As for me, I presented a flower hairpin.
I explained that the maids in my household and I had made the hairpin out of fabric, then sent the household’s young servants to distribute them wherever commoners gathered in the capital. Ordinary women worked hard day and night and rarely had time to adorn themselves.
I hoped that when they looked in a mirror or admired the water along the riverbank, the hairpins might let them borrow a little of the beauty of the palace’s precious flowers, enjoy the pleasures of being a woman, and bask in the princess’s benevolent light.
As the flowers were handed out, everyone thanked the princess for her kindness. I presented the most beautiful one to her.
After hearing this, Princess Vinh Duong sighed with feeling again and again, then ordered a lady-in-waiting to place the hairpin in her hair. She also decreed that after the flower banquet ended, the palace flowers would be taken to Lingren Temple so commoners could admire them too.
Two months later, the princess invited me to keep her company several times.
Two more months passed, and the princess sent an official in charge of rites to the Ta residence with the betrothal gifts. Rewards from the palace were bestowed at the same time.
My father’s position as Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial was not low, but compared with the princess’s imperial lineage and the wealth of the Duke of Dingguo’s household, it was nothing.
Everyone in the capital said the Ta family had leaped through the dragon’s gate.
A few perceptive people whispered that the Duke of Dingguo and Princess Vinh Duong had played their hand with great skill.
The Duke of Dingguo’s household was already fabulously wealthy. If they also married into a powerful family, their influence would become too conspicuous. Marrying the daughter of a fourth-rank official was not beneath them, and it also showed their proper attitude.
I rarely attended banquets before. In the capital, my only reputation was for being good at managing a household.
My birth mother died young, and my father remarried. My stepmother was a good person, but she wasn’t good at managing a household. So from childhood, in addition to studying the Four Books and Six Arts, I took up the account books and handled the family’s affairs.
Only when my elder brother’s wife joined the family did I hand the keys and account books over to her.
While I waited to be married off, my stepmother and sister-in-law searched for a match for me several times. But the man I set my sights on was Huo Yan—not because I admired or loved him, but because I chose him.
If I had to become someone else’s daughter-in-law, why not choose the most exalted family of all?
03
If you asked any woman to recall the days she spent waiting to be married, the preparations would always be a blur, like clouds drifting past.
By the time I realized it, I was sitting in the bridal chamber, facing Huo Yan.
Just as the rumors said, he was strikingly handsome, like fine jade and pure gold—a refined, dashing young man. He looked at me with gentle eyes.
Whether he was pleased or not, I was the daughter-in-law the princess had chosen, the future wife of the Duke of Dingguo. From now on, I would share both hardship and joy with him.
He spoke first. “Linh Thu, my mother arranged this marriage and explained its advantages and drawbacks to me. She said you were beautiful, considerate, intelligent, and capable—more than able to manage a household. I trust her judgment, so I agreed. After tonight, we’ll be husband and wife. I hope we can treat each other with mutual respect.”
“Once we’re married, I’ll take up my post and care for my parents. You’ll have to handle all the family’s affairs, inside and out, and take care of all the large and small matters.”
“Quynh Hoa—my former concubine—is a good woman. I’m sure the two of you will get along.”
Listening to him, it was as if he were speaking not to his wife but handing things over to a colleague, instructing a subordinate. The concubine he’d mentioned, by contrast, was the one he truly cared about.
Still, I’d gotten what I wished for. What was there to complain about?
So, blushing and smiling, I replied gently, “Husband, don’t worry. Husband and wife are one. From now on, I’ll care for your parents, manage the household, and treat your concubines well, so you can devote yourself to serving the country.”
He was very pleased.
The wedding rites were completed in a single night.
04
On the first day after the wedding, I paid my respects to my parents-in-law, was introduced to the relatives, and made offerings to the ancestors.
On the second day, I went to the palace to give thanks.
On the third day, I returned to my parents’ home.
It wasn’t until the fourth day that I drank the tea Li Quynh Hoa offered me.
A few days earlier, the Grand Princess had excused her from attending, on the grounds that she was frail.
The beauty before me was indeed delicate and frail. Even at the hairpin ceremony banquet, she had been one of the most beautiful women there. No wonder Huo Yan doted on her.
Even so, I was no less beautiful.
When I went to the palace to give thanks, the Imperial Consort took my hand and said to the Empress Dowager, “The woman Rongyang took a liking to is certainly no ordinary person. I wondered why she was in such a hurry to settle the marriage. It turns out she was afraid another family would snatch her up.”
Her words set the whole palace laughing.
I accepted her cup of tea, rewarded her with a pair of smooth, translucent white jade bangles, then asked her to sit and chat. “Concubine Li, you’re in poor health. From now on, you don’t need to come pay your respects and attend to me every day.”
She trembled as she replied, “H-how can that be? A concubine is supposed to attend to the principal wife. I’m very grateful for the young madam’s generosity, but I wouldn’t dare.”
“If I say it’s all right, then it’s all right. Why wouldn’t it be? My husband also said you’re in poor health. Stay at Lianzhou Hall and recover. If you need anything, come by for a visit.”
Only then did she answer.
I had plenty to keep me busy.
The Grand Princess and the Duke lived at the Grand Princess’s residence. After Huo Yan came of age, he moved to the Duke’s residence. One reason was to show his determination to build up the family estate; the other was that the Duke’s residence needed someone in charge. After all, he was the heir.
As the heir’s wife, I had countless responsibilities. Every day, I either visited my parents-in-law myself or sent someone to check on them. I also had to review the household accounts, manage social calls, and oversee the servants.
Besides our immediate family, the Duke’s household also included the second and third branches. At first, the two branches managed the household together. But after I moved in, my position as the heir’s wife gave me authority over the household. Naturally, some people were secretly unhappy about that, and it fell to me to deal with them.
If she could be of help, that would be fine. But my maid Han Phuc had heard that this concubine did nothing but talk sweet nothings and daydream with the heir.
Back when the heir still lived at the Grand Princess’s residence, she was his only favored concubine, so she should have managed the affairs of his household. But she knew nothing and foolishly relied on his senior maid, Thanh Chi, to handle everything.
Speaking of Thanh Chi, Han Phuc also told me she’d heard that Thanh Chi had once been the heir’s confidante too, considered the foremost among his bedchamber maids.
I wanted to summon her and see for myself. If she proved capable, I’d promote her to concubine.