On the sixteenth of March, after the proposal, the checking of birthdates and the exchange of betrothal gifts [1] and wedding gifts, the Emperor finally announced the wedding decree of Prince Guangping and Prince Jianning. Imperial Librarian Shen Liang Zhi’s eldest daughter will become the Princess of Guangping, whereas the second daughter of Scholar Murong Chun will be the Princess of Jianning.
The twenty eighth of March was the date of the wedding ceremony. On the day, crowds filled every street and alleyway in Chang’an city. The scale of the contest to select a bride for the two grandsons of the Emperor had shocked many. But the speed at which the weddings were held was even more surprising. After all it would have usually taken at least a year from the moment the decree was delivered to the families of the selected brides to the actual wedding ceremony due to the vast amount of preparation and the complex rituals involved. But who knew that it only took a month? Could it be that the Imperial family could not wait that long and the Emperor was in a hurry to welcome the wives of his grandsons to the family? Of course, that was only a joke that circulated among the normal civilians.
Both grandsons were the sons of the Crown Prince, with Prince Guangping the eldest son and Prince Jianning the third son. Prince Guangping was particularly well-known as he was a Di[2] Imperial grandson.
Prince Guangping, Chu was of medium build but with a graceful bearing, his face radiant with happiness. Already he carried the air and dignity of a member of the Imperial family. Today he wore a scarlet Mianfu [3] embroidered with stars and the moon and sat in the Imperial jade carriage. At one o’clock and three quarters of the hour, he set off from his manor with his sceptre bearers, his horse grooms, drummers, servants and guards, an entourage with about a thousand people to march through the four districts of Yongxing, Chongren, Shengye and Daozheng in order to collect the bride at the Shen Manor which was located at Changle district. This was the “wedding procession”. As for Prince Jianning, he left his manor about a quarter of an hour later.
This was the first time that the people of Chang’an had seen Prince Guangping properly. Although he was surrounded by several layers of guards and could only be viewed from afar but they could see that he was a man that could revive the Empire and restore glory back to the dynasty like the coming of the dragon and phoenix. What kind of a woman could be a match for such an Imperial grandson? This Consort Shen must be someone with great fortune and no ordinary woman.
A few days ago, the palace had sent a female minister from the Department of etiquette to the Shen Manor to teach the Shen clan the wedding rituals. Even the wedding ceremony of ordinary families were extremely complex and grand let alone an Imperial one. Whether it was the arrangement of the welcoming ritual, to the arrangement of the ornaments, the ritual to welcome the procession into the manor, the bride departure ceremony, the bowing ritual, the ritual where the bride and groom drink from two halves of a cup, the washing ritual or the minor details such as the angle of the bow and the etiquette which were required on the day, these all had to be practised and rehearsed beforehand so that no mistake is made.
Before the procession arrived, Shen Zhenzhu sat cross legged in her room with a thin scarlet velvet veil covering her beautiful face, but it could not cover her muddled mind. Since March, she had made the biggest decision in her life. She never believed in fate but her mind would continuously wonder that if she was not selected to be the bride of Prince Guangping, where would she be? After all, her life was completely changed in this month, these thirty days. Would she be travelling in the ox drawn carriage, on her way back to Wuxin? She would sit in a luxurious ox drawn carriage, her servants so many in number they were as countless as the clouds in the sky. Although it may attract the attention of passerby but that would be it. From then on, she would disappear like a puff of smoke in history. No-one will know that in the Tianbao reign, there was once a woman named Shen Zhenzhu. That may not be a bad thing.
But that is impossible now. Her name, her ancestral family, her parents were already written on the Imperial family book. In this lifetime she will have to go through life and death with that unfamiliar world, that was the frightening thing.
On the 3rd of March, when she returned, she had a long conversation her Father. Although she couldn’t remember the exact content of the conversation but there was one phrase that was forever engraved in her heart that was repeated on her mind time after time on countless nights.
“When it comes to debt, it will be repaid some way. Daughter, this is something you owe him, so you must repay the favour.” It was a little absurd that her Father, a typical scholar would use a concept from Buddhism to persuade her to accept the marriage.
Hong Rui quietly crept into the room and whispered in Shen Zhenzhu’s ear. “I just heard from the An Manor that 2nd Young Master An is trapped in Fang Yang so he will not return to the capital.” Hong Rui and Su Ci were her handmaidens who she will bring with her to the marriage. That was why despite the fact that everyone else was rushed off their feet and only they had little to do and thus had time to enquire about the An family.
An Qingxu was the only person that worried her. Upon hearing that, she felt herself sigh in relief. That was the best outcome. She should be grateful to Heaven’s arrangement that stopped him from creating chaos during the procession. After the marriage, everything will be set in stone and there would be nothing that he could do about it.
It was at this time that Shen Zhenzhu’s elder brother Shen Jie Fu slowly shuffled into her room, pulling her out of her thoughts. He had always doted on his younger sister. Their father was too pedantic and his wife was his stepmother. Ever since his sister was made Princess Consort, there had been a countless stream of guests knocking on their door, all wanting to curry favour with the family of the new consort of an Imperial Grandson. As the old saying goes, the coming of good and bad fortune is unpredictable. No-one will know what tomorrow will bring.
As for the marriage itself, one could say it was barely a suitable match. Putting aside the political reasons, the Noble Consort’s elder sister, Mistress Han was determined to make her daughter the Princess Consort of Guangping. When she heard that his Princess Consort was Shen Zhenzhu, she visited the palace every day, to cry to the Noble Consort and the Emperor about her disappointment. The Noble Consort rarely involved herself in political matters, she only cared about music and dancing. It is rumoured that she too disliked her niece due to her niece’s cunningness and her bad temperament. Instead it was the Emperor himself, a little unsettled by Mistress Han who had almost changed his mind about the decision. However, eventually it was Prince Guangping’s father, the gentle and mild tempered Crown Prince who lost his temper over his Father’s indecision , smashing the jade cup that was gifted to the Emperor by Lord Yang Guo Zhong that forced the Emperor to finally decide on making Shen Zhenzhu the Princess Consort of Guangping and the daughter of Mistress Han, Miss Cui his Lady Ru and that they would both marry Prince Guangping on the same day. That arrangement only made Shen Jie Fu worry about his sister’s future. After all it meant that the Yang clan was still the Emperor’s favourite. [4][5]eH
After a long period of silence, Shen JIe Fu finally spoke up. “Zhenzhu, you must take care of yourself….”he suddenly stopped mid sentence. After all, apart from telling her to take care of herself, what else could he do? Nothing could be changed now. He was only an ordinary scholar, no wonder Father would always point at him and scold him for being so useless and weak minded, that only had a fraction of his sister’s ability.
“You do not need to worry about me, elder brother. As you know, no-one has been able to bully me!” Shen Zhenzhu reassured him as she lifted a corner of her veil up. “You and Sister-in-law must visit me often! Have you received a letter from her recently? When will she be back?”
At the mention of his wife, an embarrassed smile appeared on Shen Jie Fu’s face. “She has always been so free-willed, always going about life in her own mad way. Yesterday she sent a letter back while on her travels, saying that she is at Mt Huang now so she will be unable to make your wedding. That is unforgivable!” Shen Jie Fu’s wife was the second daughter of the Gongsun clan, the sister of the famous sword art martialist Gongsun.
“I am so envious of her to be able to marry a good husband like you!” Shen Zhenzhu teased him and it was what she truly felt.
But before they could speak for much longer, suddenly the deafening noise of the drums and music becoming louder and louder. Prince Guangping had arrived. Shen Jie Fu fell silent while Shen Zhenzhu smiled as she squeezed her brother’s hand. “Elder brother, do not worry.”
“Zhenzhu, you must remember to lower your head when necessary. Do not be too headstrong and do not show them your true capabilities. Always remember that!” Shen Jie Fu reminded her as she left the room.
After that, it was the long and arduous process of the wedding ritual which consisted of kowtowing and bowing. Even though Shen Zhenzhu had a brilliant memory and could remember everything she learned in the short ten days, however she still felt lost after some time and could only rely on her handmaidens Su Ci and Hong Rui to guide her through the ceremony. Perhaps that is why it is the most important day of one’s life.
Her new husband, Prince Guangping was either opposite her or beside her. Although she could not see his face, but the strange thing was, she felt as if she could distinguish his gentle scent through the uproar of the wedding and the complicated rituals. When she lowered her eyes, she could see his colourful robes. Suddenly she was overcome with shyness of every new bride.
The final ritual was to bow goodbye to her parents and to be guided to the door by Su Ci. “It’s now time to climb onto the carriage,” Su Ci whispered into her ear. She lowered her head in reply. Through the veil, she could see the outline of the wheel of the carriage. The wheel was engraved with exquisite paintings of the phoenix and dragon. This jade carriage was supposed to be used when the Crown Prince marries the Crown Princess and had never been used by a Prince of 2nd rank for his marriage before. The Emperors’ gift was an oddity.
“Please can the Princess Consort enter the carriage!” Before the Master of Ceremonies could finish, a hand suddenly shot out from beside her and grabbed her left hand. That was not part of the ritual that she was told about! She could hear the crowd suddenly raise their voices a little and the Master of Ceremonies stumble over her words. But then as if an arrow of amnesia had passed through the crowd, everything returned to normality again.
The hand that held hers was as comforting as jade with a hidden power within. With his help, she effortlessly got on the carriage. “I’m here, do not be afraid,” he told her, his low voice seemed closer than she expected and she felt herself blush as her heart filled with warmth. As she lowered her eyes, she could see the light reflecting on his robes.
It brought her mind back to ten years ago, to that day when she woke up in a daze after almost drowning. Her entire body was shaking with pain when she slowly opened her eyes to an opulent and unfamiliar room filled with unfamiliar women dressed in the best silks, filled with unfamiliar air and an unfamiliar world. The eight year old her was engulfed in fear and immediately leapt out of bed screaming. When she left the room, she realised that she was on a boat. The vast open deck made her even more frightened and confused. Finally, it was him who grabbed her hand and reassured her by telling her, “I’m here, do not be afraid,” which finally calmed her down.
That was why, that was why.
“Set off!” Once again, the air of Chang’an was filled with the drumming music of the wedding procession.
[1] Birthdates: This was an extremely important step before a couple can be betrothed. The parents would give the birthdates and time to the matchmaker who will then present it to the fortune-teller or cosmologist to predict the future of the couple-to-be. If the fortune teller comes back and says the match will be a bad one, the betrothment cannot continue.
Betrothal gifts and wedding gifts: The betrothal gift or bridewealth is when the bridegroom’s family would ask the matchmaker to present a bride price (how much the bride is worth to them) including the betrothal letter to the bride’s family. The wedding gifts would be an elaborate array of food and cakes and gifts to the bride’s family.
[2] Di Shu system: As ancient China practised polygamous marriages, a man could take one primary wife and concubines. A man can only have one Di/primary wife and the rest are concubines. The primary wife must go through a formal wedding in order to become the primary wife. Any children who the primary wife has will be Di children. She was like the mother of the household and managing the Shu wives. Men can also take a secondary wife which are slightly higher ranking than concubines and may hold a small ceremony to celebrate this. However, like the other concubines, any children she bears will be Shu children. This is important as Di children hold a much higher social status than the Shu children with the eldest Di son, holding the paramount position over the other children. When it comes to inheritance, in the Tang dynasty the eldest Di son will be the successor to the head of the household and if he died, it will be the next Di son. Only if the man does not have any Di sons will the Shu sons be considered.
[3]Mianfu: A type of Chinese Hanfu and often only worn by the Emperor , Princes and nobles. No-one else is permitted to wear it. It is the highest level of formal dress and only worn in special events. There are different grades of it and it’s appearance and form is used to distinguish the rank of the wearer. Anyone else who wears the wrong rank can be punished.
[4][5] Prince Guangping is a prince of the 2nd rank, A Lady Ru is a concubine of a prince of 2nd rank and carries a 5th rank title. A prince of 2nd ranking can have a maximum two of these during the Tang dynasty. He can also have ten “Teng” concubines and they carry a 6th rank title.
Productive Procrastination 