The Pearls - YUNMEI

Chapter 5 - New Beginnings

Outside her room, celebratory bells and music could be heard. If she peeked through her window, she could see that the palace had now been decorated extravagantly, with red and gold ribbons and tapestries hanging from every building and doorway. Her own room was a chaotic cacophony of noises and commotion, maids bustling away trying to ensure that she looked her best for her wedding day. Her wedding. 

Yunmei never could have imagined that she would be married to a man she once considered her enemy. As she stared at herself in the mirror, lips painted ruby red, hair done in a luxurious, heavy updo, she hardly recognized herself. She was no longer the Princess that she had grown up to be, that she had spent hours studying and training to become. She was an Empress now. To people she hardly knew, to a Emperor she was only beginning to understand. What must father think of her? Would he be proud of her choices? Would he understand? 

She met Meilin's eyes in the mirror, finding comfort in her kind expression, her gentle smile. 

"It's time." 

Yunmei's grand entrance began with the opening of heavy, double doors, blood red and requiring two men to push open with steady strides. They led to the palace's main walkway before the Emperor's throne room. Yunmei pushed her shoulders back, and tilted her chin up, before taking graceful strides forward. She walked between hundreds of people - her people - maids, scholars, soldiers, and noblemen. She tried to stay calm, keeping a steady breath, trying not to dart her eyes around for the person she was truly looking for. 

Emperor Wuyi stood tall at the end of the walkway. Dressed in his finest robes, gold, and white silk, his expression was unreadable, as it always was. Yunmei couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. They had made a deal, made choices for the sake of their nations and people. But Yunmei was sure that Wuyi had his own secret hopes and dreams for his marriage. Did it pain him to be married to a stranger? 

As she neared him, she noticed a group of noblemen and women standing to his right, wearing familiar colours, looking on edge. Xiaolong! Brother! Their eyes met, and Yunmei fought the urge to sprint across the walkway into her brother's arms. Tears pricked at the sight of him. His eyes were sad, angry, and determined. Was he upset with her? Was he proud of her? She felt a pang of sadness at the sight of so many familiar people, men and women she called her friends, who she had grown up with. She knew they must have been invited by Emperor Wuyi as a gesture of peace, but in a sense, she was grateful that her closest friends and her own brother, could be by her side for this monumental day. 

At her brother's side, as he always was, stood General Lang, who looked stoic and alert. She knew he had attempted to rescue her, and would be forever grateful for the risk that he took. She recognized Ruyi, the only female medic in the palace. She also knew that Xiaolong's mysterious assassin Jia was most likely lurking about in the shadows, keeping a watchful gaze on all of them. 

When she finally reached Emperor Wuyi, her legs felt wobbly, her breath shaky. He must have recognised the panic in her eyes, as he took her hands in his, steadying them, steadying her. Beside them, a nobleman spoke of their union, and peace between two nations that had long been at war. The words washed over her, barely comprehensible, as she stared into the handsome face of the man who was now her husband. In the glow of the setting sun, his expression seemed almost gentle. Brown eyes shimmering gold. 

He finally broke eye contact as he turned toward his subjects, eyes sweeping over the masses of people who had clamored excitedly into the palace grounds for a rare peek at the royal grounds and their new Empress. 

"After years of war, bloodshed and sacrifice, we have chosen peace. You have all waited patiently for a time when you could live without fear and raise your children without worry. As your Emperor, it is my duty and my honour to lead you into this new era of harmony, with my new bride, Empress Yunmei." He outstretched his arm towards her, as the crowd erupted into cheers and applause. A heavy crown was placed over her head, and before she could take in the crowd, their cheers, the firecrackers bursting into loud pops and crackles, she was being swept back down the aisle, alongside her new husband. 

"You look lovely," Emperor Wuyi whispered into her ear, as he guided her back into her living quarters, away from the public eye. Shock reverberated through her body as she looked up at him, trying hard not to feel overwhelmed by the whole situation. 

"Have a moment," he said," gently nudging her into a chair. "I shall see you at the feast," he said with a gentle smile, before moving out of her line of vision, to reveal her brother, who stood silently, watching their exchange carefully. They shared a brief acknowledgment, a parting nod before her husband left the room.

"Sister," Xiaolong said, before they rushed forward toward one another. Yunmei couldn't stop the tears that rushed to the surface. "Why didn't you come back when I sent Lang for you? Why didn't you listen?" He said angrily, shaking her. 

Yunmei simply squeezed her brother tighter in her arms, breathing in his scent, knowing it would be the last time in a long while that she might get to see him again. 

"Please, brother. Ever since we were little, you have always protected me. It was almost as if you were born with a sword in hand. With Father gone so soon, you did everything, for me, for our people," Yunmei said bittersweetly. "But this is what I can do. Let me save our people."

Xiaolong stepped back, looking at her in a way he never had before. She was more beautiful than she had ever been, but the gentle softness in her eyes had been replaced by a fierceness that he had not often seen before. He brushed a stray tear from her eye. She was different now, he knew that. Everything would change for her, for them. She would always be his baby sister, but now she was an Empress, a foreign queen to a foreign land. There were not words for all the things he wanted to tell her. But in the silence that passed between them, she knew. He was proud of her. He was scared for her.