I prefer to call Hotohori's bride by her Chinese name of Feng-Qi, as it is in the manga. (Hotohori's Chinese name is Xing Shu or Cai Pi Di, for anyone who is interested). This is just my version of "how it might have happened". For my inspiration, I draw your attention to Volume 8 (Friend) Chapter 47 (Watching You Always) p.145 and volume 12 (Girlfriend) Chapter 67 (Matrimony) p56. A whole story from one sneeze...

Someone's Thinking of You

Chapter 1

Today was the day. The biggest day any girl in the empire could hope for. The day, so Madame Song told her, that her whole life had been building up to. And all she wanted to do was go back to bed.

"You need to make an effort, Feng-Qi." Madame Song pinched her cheeks until they hurt, in an attempt to bring more colour into them. "His Majesty has rejected enough potential brides already. You are by far the prettiest we have left."

"I'm sorry." She sighed. "I don't feel well."

"You never feel well, Feng-Qi." Madame Song frowned at her handiwork. "That's no excuse to neglect your social skills. Acting the wallflower is not going to capture His Majesty's heart. We've all heard he prefers the lively type."

It wasn't her fault she was shy. It had been all right at home in her village with people she had grown up with. Her in the Inner Seraglio it was all court gossip and backbiting. She felt completely out of place. And it wasn't her fault she wasn't strong, either; that she got tired by mid-afternoon and caught every cold that was going around. Her mother had called it "delicate". It was supposed to be one of the attributes of a ladylike woman. Or so she had thought.

It wouldn't have been so bad if they hadn't all kept comparing her to Kang-Lin, a previous prospective bride to whom she was supposed to bear an uncanny resemblance. Every failure on her part to meet up to Madame Song's notion of the ideal empress was met with, "Kang-Lin was always so strong," "Kang-Lin spoke her mind," "Kang-Lin was totally focused on winning His Majesty's favour." It seemed not to matter to Madame Song that the word was Kan-Lin had actually been a man and a Celestial Warrior of Suzaku at that. Not a great deal of news from the male world reached the Inner Seraglio, and the things that did were often twisted beyond all recognition.

"Now take small steps and remember to be flattering. And smile for once."

Madame Song pushed her out of the door. Feng-Qi swallowed. Her throat was so sore.