The Earth King's Imperial Palace, The Golden Ring~
I sat stone-faced as nameless maids worked tirelessly to transform me into an imperial bride. My obsidian hair was smoothed back tightly and the grand wedding headpiece was placed on top my head. I bit my lower lip as the floral decorations and golden hair ornaments covered my head. Jade and emerald filigree brushed against my cheeks and strands of pearls grazed my forehead and the tip of my ears, which were laden with various jewels.
I felt the fastening of my veil when a silent young maid held a golden mirror in front of me to gaze upon their handiwork. I couldn't guard a sigh which, I was sure, they noticed and I quickly held back my tears.
A bitter smile scraped across my face as I saw my reflection. It was me…it really was me sitting there when it was supposed to be someone else.
The royal maids helped me rise, supporting me from both sides as I trudged to the waiting palanquin. My heavy silk wedding robes made it difficult for me to walk and they reflected the heaviness of my heart. A tear slipped out under the safety of my veil.
Flower petals were falling like rain from the sky as they trumpeted my appearance. The large gates opened I saw the Hall of Jade, the wedding hall. I gulped painfully as I saw thousands of young women awaiting me…waiting for me to become one of them, one in the Emperor's harem.
Royal maids rushed to my side as they escorted me to the grand celebration that was being held for our wedding. They carried me down petal strewn paths and when I passed the government officials and relatives I was greeted with all the royal wives and concubines dressed in appropriate wedding fashion.
I breathed heavily as I peered through my veil and gold ornamental filigree. The Emperor sat at the end of the pathway with the Empress, behind a see through golden curtain, beside him dressed in her ceremonial robes.
The maids helped me rise from my deep bow and I stood solemnly as they rearranged my gown and veil. I was about to proceed with their assistance when a tall young man extended his hand and escorted me down the plum blossom covered red path towards the seated imperial couple.
I tried to keep my head modestly down, but I stole peeks at the young man escorting me. He was dressed in a royal fashion from what I could perceive and he appeared to wear the crown of a prince of sorts. His warm feather like fingers firmly but tenderly grasped my arm and I felt a welcoming assurance from his touch.
When I finally was before the Emperor, the young prince who escorted me bowed and lifted off my veil. I slowly opened my eyes and as the plum blossom petals cascaded across my cheeks, I nearly gasped at the young man's smiling beauty. He seemed surprised at my youth as well but quickly masked his expression and bowed deeply to the Emperor before leaving my side.
"Thank you, my son," the Emperor spoke with a wide smile.
My eyes fluttered to the Emperor and I realized that his visage was still quite youthful. He had inherited the throne at a very early age and he was only thirty-three to his wife, the Empress's forty.
I lowered my face as I fell into a deep bow once more and settled on my knees. With gentle hands he bade me to rise and with the assistance of the royal maids I did while keeping my gaze down on the ground. He lifted my chin and broke into a wide smile for he appeared to be pleased at my youth.
"You are certainly pretty, Lady Zhou…just as your father, the venerable Duke, mentioned," he spoke softly in the elegant manner of the court.
I remained wordless and just lowered my heavy head as much as I could without toppling the headpiece on top.
"Today, we are bound in an unbreakable matrimony. I, the Earth King, Emperor of the Imperial Palace, declare you, Lady Zhou Reilan, daughter of the great Duke Zhou, as my 27th wife. You shall be known as the Queen Nightingale of the Eastern Pavilion, the Nightingale Hall," he eloquently declared as he placed a jade ring onto my finger.
I felt myself shake as he touched me and I wanted nothing more than to run away. The Empress glared unhappily down at me for the Emperor was overly jovial. She pursed her lips and I could sense all the other wives and concubines darting their gazes upon my figure. It was suffocating and unbearable. I wished desperately to fly away like the plum blossom petals floating in the wind.
After my union with the Earth King, we underwent an extensive tea ceremony and I realized that my life at the palace would be even more difficult than I imagined. The Empress Phoenix, the Earth King's first wife, and I were bound in sisterhood as I poured her tea. As I handed her the porcelain cup, I sensed her displeasure and she shook in fury as she forcibly drank it. I held my breath and kept my head as close to the floor as possible.
"Queen Nightingale, you are to enter the jasmine bath in preparation for your night with the King," an expressionless maid bowed and I walked into the steam filled bath.
When I closed my eyes for the perfumed oils, my eyes fluttered open in a startle when I saw the Empress Phoenix and the royal wives gathered in the bathroom glaring down at me.
"Queen Nightingale, you are now one of us," a clever looking woman with a severe chin, Queen Swallow, the 11th wife spoke sharply.
My lips parted in confusion and shock as they dragged me out of my bath and held me down as Queen Chrysanthemum grabbed my right hand. Before I could even ask a question, the petite Queen Butterfly pricked my palm and my eyes widened as I saw scarlet blood trailing out from the break.
"Queen Nightingale," the Empress brushed her pricked palm against mine as she spoke bitingly, "Now we are true sisters…everything of yours is mine. You must remember that and know your place in these palaces…I am your master."
"Yes…yes, Empress Phoenix…" I whimpered as each wife did the same act.
I sank back into my bath after they had left and I shuddered in fear. Picking up a jasmine blossom floating in the water, tears fell down my cheeks as I saw the white petals stained pink from the bloods of all us women...I crushed it in a tight fist as I angrily cried. This was not meant to be my fate…
Tears fell like rain on my silk gown as Kuya pulled my hair back and placed various hair ornaments. My neck strained under the weight of the large headpiece and gold ornaments, which fell down to my collarbone.
"You look lovely, Lady Reilan. You shall be the loveliest bride the Emperor has ever seen," Kuya smiled as she motioned the other maids to wipe my tears away.
"I don't want to marry…" my voice whimpered a barely audible whisper.
"Shhh, my lady. You cannot say these things anymore. You should be so happy. It is every girl's wish to become the Emperor's queen," she insisted.
"It was Yinlan who was supposed to marry the Emperor…not me," I insisted as tears endlessly flowed down my cheeks.
"My Lady!" Kuya look startled as I mentioned her name, "You know that we are not supposed to mention your dear sister's name. She has passed and it still greatly affects your mother so."
"This was Yinlan's fate! Not mine! The Emperor is so much older than I!" I cried.
"Well, not everyone's destiny turns out the way one expects. No one ever dreamed that we would lose Lady Yinlan in such a way," Kuya shed a single tear in memory of my beautiful sister.
"I just wish that she was back…" my voice wandered off when they threw the red wedding veil over my head.
Father stood steadfastly and stone-faced as he parted with one of his many daughters.
"Reilan. I expect that you shall do very well in the palace. You know that our family rests in your hands now," he spoke softly and I felt the burden weighing down ever more heavily on my shoulders.
"My dear daughter…Reilan. You are still so young…with four years still left for you to turn twenty. I am sorry that we are to part so soon. But remember dear child, you are the luckiest girl in the world. You are living every little girl's fantasy," Mother, Father's second wife and the only to produce a male heir for him, kissed my forehead.
I bowed deeply, my last to my family who I was never to see again, and I continued to shed tears as they placed me in the elaborate palanquin. I looked out at our vast estate…Father's elaborately cultivated gardens and buildings. I looked at all my Father's wives and concubines, some seething with a jealousy that confounded me. My half siblings…some wished me luck with tearstained faces while others gritted their teeth in anger. My young brother tearfully waved goodbye as we were torn apart and I left my family's gates to enter the grand gates of the Emperor's palace, never to come out of the Forbidden City again.