Eight Treasures Trousseau

40

Chapter Forty: Congratulations

Hua Xi Wan felt suspicious, but she still changed into her junwang fei–ranked attire and then put on a heavy gold coronet to go to the main hall of the wangfu. Not long after she arrived, she saw Yan Jin Qiu come back dressed in the robes of a junwang. The major stewards of the yard were waiting outside the hall.

When Yan Jin Qiu walked into the hall, he saw Hua Xi Wan's calm expression and knew that she was not shocked by this sudden news. He smiled and walked next to her to stand. He said in a light voice, "We should eat earlier tonight." This was akin to saying to Hua Xi Wan that they would talk in private later.

There were taijian and female officials of rank standing inside the hall. Hua Xi Wan lightly put her hand on Yan Jin Qiu's palm. She smiled. "All right." She knew that the Emperor was not doing this with completely good intentions, but she could see from Yan Jin Qiu's expression that he was happy about this. Therefore, she did not think any further and just waited for the people from the Ministry of Rites to come to proclaim the imperial decree.

Not long after the two started waiting, the officials of the Ministry of Rites came with a large group of people. They then recited two long decrees. Basically, it was Yan Jin Qiu's certificate for his position of qinwang and Hua Xi Wan's for her position of qinwang fei. What came with the certificates was golden seals and books. The robes had not been finished, so they were still due. There was also the matter of the junwang fu that had to be enlarged. Since this had been a qinwang fu originally, the yards that had been locked would be opened, and then people from the Ministry of Works could come and do repairs. Items that could represent the identity of a qinwang were bestowed down in great numbers to show the vastness of imperial grace.

After listening for a long time, Yan Jin Qiu and Hua Xi Wan finally finished listening to the list of what had been bestowed down. Husband and wife sent off the officials of the Ministry of Rites, and then watched as things were carried into the yard in chests. In the process, there were two refills of tea.

Whenever an object was called, servants would open the box so the two masters could see it. In the end, Hua Xi Wan could not help but move her gaze away. It was not that she did not like money, but she really understood now what "gold was dazzling, and silver was stupidly white" meant. If she kept on looking, she would become blind.

"Tired?" Yan Jin Qiu saw Hua Xi Wan's state and then gave a look to the nearby servants. He then said, "If you are tired, we will go into the room to rest. The servants can supervise here."

Hua Xi Wan nodded and seemed to weakly touch the heavy gold coronet on her head. By now, she was a high and clean person who thought of money and gold as dirt.

Returning to the room, Hua Xi Wan first allowed the servant girls to help her change out of the junwang fei robes and put on a beautiful and loose floor-length dress before she exhaled. She rubbed her neck and said, "If that keeps on pressing down, I will be a hand's width shorter."

"Is it that heavy?" Yan Jin Qiu reached out to rub the back of her neck. "Is it better now?"

"Your skill is not as good as that of my servant girls." Hua Xi Wan glanced at him with a smile. "Fine, I do not dare to have Wang Ye do such a thing. Let them do this."

Yan Jin Qiu smiled and took his hand away. Then he said, "There will probably be many well-wishers who will come to our fu soon. It will be a hardship for you in the next few days."

Hong Ying saw the situation and walked behind Hua Xi Wan to start a massage.

"There are the stewards who will help; it will not be very hard." Hua Xi Wan lazily leaned back and sat in the chair. She said slowly, "The great benevolence of the Emperor is a great and joyous matter. Even if I am tired, I am happy inside."