Chapter 2

Chapter 2

She was right. In the short two years after I became Empress, my father, Hu Zhihe, rose from vice minister to secretary of the imperial secretariat.

From there, he was promoted again to Grandee of Splendid Happiness.

Another three years passed, and he became even more illustrious than my great-great-grandfather had been. He rose to the rank of chief minister and was even ennobled as Duke of Jin.

But Zhao Ling did not like me.

On our wedding night, the red candles burned down to their ends, and still he did not say a single word to me of his own accord.

The candlelight in the hall flickered softly. I, on the other hand, smiled at him with my eyes curved like crescents and spoke first. “Your Majesty is just as Ah Rong imagined. Ah Rong likes Your Majesty.”

I had three elder brothers at home and countless male cousins. Aside from them, I had rarely come into contact with men from outside the family.

When Zhao Ling ascended the throne, the wet nurse who had raised me since childhood had secretly told me that the new emperor was the third son of the Former Prince of Yi, with looks that were first-rate, a handsome face and bearing-a rare and lovely young gentleman.

My wet nurse had also said, “Once My Lady sees him, you will surely like him, and he will surely treat My Lady well.”

At that age, when a young girl’s heart first begins to stir, the moment I laid eyes on Zhao Ling, I only felt he was like pearl and jade set among broken tiles and stones, bright and dazzling.

But his expression was very faint. When I looked at him and smiled, he gazed back at me with eyes so dark they seemed bottomless, without the slightest ripple in them.

“Why is Your Majesty unhappy? Is it because Ah Rong is not pretty? Am I different from what you imagined?” I asked, a little uneasy.

Everyone said that Hu Minrong was born with natural beauty, that since childhood I had been acknowledged among the noble families as a budding beauty.

Could it all have been false? They must have been coaxing me.

He did not speak. There was no trace of joy on his face, and I grew dejected. I pouted, then, still unwilling to give up, reached out to hook my finger around his. “Don’t be unhappy. The books say that when the cloud was about to journey east, it passed the branch of the whirlwind tree before encountering Hongmeng. Ah Rong and Your Majesty are fated. I am already your Empress, and from now on I will be one with you as husband and wife, and journey with you to Hongmeng. I will obediently listen and be a good Empress.”

If I had been a little more attentive that day, I would have noticed the flash of mockery that passed through his distant eyes.

But I was not attentive enough. He merely withdrew his hand and said in a cool, flat voice, “I am tired. Empress, rest well.”

That wedding night, Zhao Ling slept fully clothed.

For the next two years, he never once set foot in Jiaofang Hall.

The number of times I met him could be counted on one hand.

Affairs of state never passed through his hands. A puppet emperor had plenty of time to squander.

If I could not see him, it could only be because he did not wish to see me.

This truly left me heartsick for a very long time.

But I was a daughter of the Hu Family, the Empress chosen by Prince Liang.

Even if the emperor did not favor me, everyone in the palace still coaxed me, respected me, and tried every possible way to please me.

Even Uncle Prince Liang, Zhao Cui, who was past forty, once sent people to bring me some fresh and amusing trinkets.

For a time, I, the Empress, lived with more dignity than the emperor himself.

Back then, I had not yet reached marriageable age. In their eyes, I suppose I was still a child.

When my mother, Lady Hu née Xu, entered the palace, besides sighing that “my child has grown taller,” she would occasionally tell me, “Your father has earned Prince Liang’s appreciation. Now he is a grandee of the Secretariat, and his words carry weight in court. Ah Rong, as the noble Empress, ought to simply enjoy your honor and glory.”

At first, she never mentioned how Zhao Ling treated me.

Later, as my father’s official rank climbed higher and higher, she became rude along with it. Once, she even said, “What does that brat Zhao Ling amount to? Ah Rong need not take him seriously. If he understands the times, he will tuck his tail between his legs and play the emperor properly, while showing you the utmost respect. Otherwise, sooner or later, one day…”