A Match Made In Heaven (Jiuyue Liuhuo)

ooner.
Now that the Empress was in her late years, the court has been arguing endlessly about whether the crown prince’s surname was going to be Wu or Li.
The Empress also never made a clear statement on this matter.
If she accidentally married the wrong person, let alone glory and wealth, she was afraid that the lives of her whole family would be at stake.

Evidently, Old Madam Ming also had this concern.
She already experienced the bloody storm of the Chui Gong period6; she still had lingering fears from those years where beheadings and exiles were instantaneous endings in the event of only a bit of disagreement.
Now that the Empress was old and the Great Zhou dynasty7 had progressed to a critical point, who knew which side would be favored by fate next?

Before the situation became clear, Old Madam Ming was not willing to bet prematurely, but even if the invitation from Taiping Gongzhu was a formality, who would dare not go?

Old Madam Ming felt like she was placed between a rock and a hard place.
She glanced at Ming Huashang, who was examining her nails seriously and looking completely unbothered, and made up her mind in a blink of an eye, “Thanking Her Highness Taiping for her favor and sending an invitation to the Ming family.
But the mountain road to Feihong Garden is narrow, and difficult to travel by carriages and horses.
The young masters can just ride horses, but it’s truly inconvenient for womenfolk.”

’

The second and third branches all showed regret when they heard this, knowing that they would be unable to go to the Feihong banquet.
Unexpectedly, subsequently, Old Madam Ming changed the direction of her speech and said, “Second young master is very skilled at archery and equestrianism and has a reputation for his talent.
The banquet is an occasion for him to meet some friends.
Second miss, you and your elder brother can go together.”

Ming Huashang was startled, she even thought that she heard wrong, “Me?”

It was also a coincidence that just when Old Madam Ming mentioned second young master, a happy report from the servant girl outside the door sounded, “Old Madam, second young master has arrived.”

The entrance’s curtain was lifted, and the cold wind swept in with the snow, blowing away the heavy fragrance and warmth inside the room.
Ming Huashang turned her head and saw a tall and straight crimson figure passing behind the exquisitely carved window.
A pair of slender and flawless hands held the glass-beaded curtain.
His fingertips were even more radiant than the glazed crystalline beads.

Multicolored glass beads collided with each other producing a constant ring.
The gorgeous bead curtain contrasted the face behind it making it look fairer.
The scene looked like white jade plated with gold rims.
His jet-black eyes swept the room indifferently, filling the hall with splendor and boundless color.

’

The young man ignored the frozen gazes in the room, let down the bead curtain, and slightly cupped his hands towards the Old Madam at the front of the room, “Your grandson Huazhang pays respects to grandmother.”

Footnotes

Her grandmother’s maid’s name (Baoqin) means to carry the zither…which is much more sophisticated.
The names Ming Huashang came up with would’ve been considered crude back then. 公主 (gōngzhǔ): Princess/Daughters of the Emperor The Empress is from the Wu family 王 (wáng): This position was usually reserved for adult sons of the Emperor. 郡王 (jùnwáng): Given to non-blood-related subordinates who have usually fought valiantly or rendered extreme meritorious service to the country. Chuigong (January 685-December 688) was the title of Emperor Ruizong’s (named Li Dan) reign, but in fact, Wu Zetian manipulated the government and her son, Emperor Ruizong, had no real power This was Wu Zetian’s title for her dynasty, full title is Wu Zhou.
It preceded and succeeded the Tang Dynasty