RUYI

84 - Princess Quan Yi

                "Li Ruyi, for your poem, I bestow to you the title Princess Quan Yi - 3rd rank, Princess Consort of Prince Wu Jian."

I was stunned with the Emperor's sudden proclamation.

"Wang Fei... you must properly thank his Majesty" Jumao whispered to me.

The Prince stood and lifted his hand out to me. Confused, I placed my hand into his and stood beside him. While we walk into the center of the banquet field, I can't help but feel uneasy.

Many were stunned by Emperor Huizhong's sudden proclamation. A month has not yet passed since Li Ruyi appeared in Wu Xi, no one knows anything about the young woman except that her father is a first ranked Marquess in the Country of Milong. Although Prince Wu Jian had married her as his wife - as his Wang Fei, it had not been blessed by the Prince's grandfather, the Emperor of Wu Xi - therefore, she had no real title or status. Until now. Emperor Huizhong had given Li Ruyi a Princess title and acknowledged her as Prince Wu Jian's Consort.

What confuses people is why Emperor Huizhong had given her a title because of a poem? Yes, the poem was beautiful and powerfully used to transform the meaning of the painting. But was it was it worth a Princess' title?

Very few understood why the Emperor made the decree. Only those who witness Prince Hai Quan's reading that year recognized the significance of Li Ruyi's poem. Her poem - whether it was by mere coincidence, luck, or fate, had been exactly what he had once recited to his royal father. Rather than the poem, it had been Prince Hai Quan that Emperor Huizhong had cherished. The title Princess "Quan" Yi that the Emperor bestowed was the proof.

Everyone watched as Li Ruyi stood beside Prince Wu Jian to give her thanks to the Emperor and Empress. While the Emperor accepted the young woman's bow with a soft smile, no one could read the quiet expression on the Empress beside him. Above all, no one noticed the princess with angry eyes sitting behind the Empress.