Legend of Concubine's Daughter Minglan 知否知否 应是绿肥红瘦

C185. The Imperial Family (118.2)

As the coach kept going, Minglan heard the sound coming through from the outside. She realized that they must have entered into the outer imperial city. After a while, they arrived at the gate of the inner city. Then the couple got off the coach and changed to a small sedan with green curtains and a horse which had been prepared for them long ago. Gu Tingye rode on the horse and Minglan got into the sedan. They went forward for a bit longer. As they arrived at the East Splendid Gate, they should start walking now. A few imperial servants guided the way ahead of them.

On the way, Minglan, not daring to raise her head and look around, only followed Gu Tingye and walked slowly with her head lowered. However, even so, she was still able to sense that the overall arrangements inside of the palace were truly magnificent. All the stairs were made by white jade, all the pillars were decorated with gold and painted by hands. Everywhere in this place seemed spacious and magnificent.

After they had entered into a side palace, a middle-aged maid in cyan brocade clothes with dark fringes came out and reported with a smile, "Master Gu, Madam Gu, please come in. The Empress Dowager is expecting the two of you."

Gu Tingye glimpsed at Minglan, finding her being strangely calm right now and showing no flurried look on her face. Then he also got relaxed. After they had passed two palace hallways and crossed the high doorsill with the guide of that maid, they finally entered into the main palace.

The burning ambergris in the red copper censer sent out thin plumes of smoke, which made the room be suffused with exquisite fragrance. The bright and clean marble floor could nearly reflect people's figure. The two empress dowagers were sitting upright in the honored seats of the hall. On the left was a noble lady in a brilliant yellow dress of the royal style, who seemed to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight. That must be the empress. There were two screens by their sides, behind which came vaguely the aroma of the make-up and the sound of the jewelries wobbling. From the gap between the screen and the ground, Minglan could also see the lower hems of the brocade dresses. So perhaps the people behind the screen were the harems or the imperial concubines.

Gu Tingye and Minglan knelt down and kowtowed while expressing their gratitude. Then they heard a gentle voice saying, "Get up. You two are a bit late. The sister-in-law and younger sister of the empress have already arrived."

The empress turned around and said with a gentle smile, "Mother, please don't blame them. After all, they live very far. The edicts have seen sent to the three families at the same time. So the Gu's family must have been the last to receive it."

Minglan stood up and gave a quick glance at the people in front of her. Then she found out the voice she had just heard were from the right. This empress dowager was gorgeous and had a fair skin with an elegant manner and a gentle smile. However, although the empress dowager on the left was also well preserved, she still showed her age and even seemed a bit nervous.

Then, Minglan basically told them apart. Empress Dowager De measured Gu Tingye with her eyes and then said smilingly, "You surely a different man after you got married. Look how amiable you have become."

The empress wasn't very gorgeous, but she did have two bright and pretty eyes. With a dimple appearing on one side of her face, she chuckled and then said, "Mother, you do have a good sight. I also found him politer than before. At that time when His Majesty was at the border of the Shu State, Tingye wore that long beard all the year round. I always found him look very fierce from the distance. Every time he came back, Hui'er was so scared that she didn't even dare to come out. Only Zaifu and Zaishun liked him a lot... Now that you have already got married, you have to live a good life, Tingye. Right, mother?"

Empress Dowager An only chuckled and replied perfunctorily without talking too much. Meanwhile, Empress Dowager De straightly ignored Minglan and only gave a long speech to Gu Tingye about how to regulate the family and rule the state as well as the importance of being patriotic and loyal to the throne. She talked about Confucius, Menci and Xuncius. Minglan glanced at Gu Tingye secretly, finding him being super cooperative and showing no sign of impatience. He also thanked the emperor for the seventy thousand ounces of silver and seven acres of farmland as well as countless silks which had been rewarded to him lately.