New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

"Your Highness, it's not good."

In a secluded room in the inner palace, Princess Zhao Yingluo of Shunde was making the wedding robe she would wear. Her personal maid Rong'er rushed in from outside the door, looking flustered and disoriented. Her originally pretty face was full of surprise, and her two delicate eyebrows were tied into a big knot.

Whether it was due to the long run or the fear instilled by the rumors in the palace, she rushed back without any regard for etiquette.

"What's happening outside that's causing you such panic? Could it be that the Jin army outside the city is attacking again?"

Faced with Zhao Yingluo's calm demeanor, Rong'er disregarded the difference between mistress and servant. She snatched the needlework from Zhao Yingluo's hand, her voice filled with anxiety: "According to Xiao Shunzi, who works in Yanfu Palace, one of the conditions proposed by the Jin Kingdom in this peace negotiation with our Great Song Dynasty is that we send a princess to marry into the Song Dynasty."

Zhao Yingluo's expression faltered slightly, but she quickly regained her composure: "Using a marriage alliance to exchange for peace is not a bad idea. However, whether the princess sent is real or fake, it's not a good thing for our Great Song Dynasty to talk about."

"Why isn't Your Highness in a hurry?" Seeing her master remain so calm, Rong'er was almost in tears. "Originally, His Majesty planned to send Princess Yifu to marry a foreign ruler, but just now Princess Yifu threw a tantrum in front of His Majesty, so His Majesty changed the choice and switched Your Highness's identity with Princess Yifu's. In a few days, Princess Yifu will marry into the Xiang family, while Your Highness will have to go north with the Jin army to marry a foreign ruler."

Sensing Zhao Yingluo's body stiffen on the spot, her personal maid Rong'er knew that the news she brought back still dealt a blow to the prince.

In the seventh year of the Zhenghe era, her mother passed away. From that time on, Zhao Yingluo, who had just turned six, knew that she was about to lose favor with her father, Emperor Zhao Ji.

Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) was fond of women, and had three thousand concubines in his harem, as well as many children. Zhao Yingluo knew that after losing her mother's protection, her father might not even remember what she, his daughter, looked like.

Having lived in the inner palace and witnessed the fickleness of human relationships, Zhao Yingluo, at a young age, learned not to compete or fight. As a princess of the Song Dynasty, she did not act like one at all. When her father betrothed her to the Xiang family, even though she was unwilling, Zhao Yingluo had to pretend to agree happily without uttering a single complaint.

Having finally reached marriageable age, she only wanted to escape the cage of the palace. Who could have imagined that fate would be so unfair to her? Just because of Zhao Yuanzhu's few coquettish words, she became the person chosen to replace her and go to the Jin Kingdom for a political marriage.

After a brief moment of distraction, Zhao Yingluo gave an indescribable bitter smile. She picked up the needlework that Rong'er had taken from her again and continued to embroider on it as if no one else was around.

In a short while, she had resigned herself to her fate. Neither the Xiang family nor the Jin Kingdom was a place she wanted to marry into. But what good was it if she had a thousand reasons not to?

Since it wasn't her desired destination, yet she had no choice but to go, what difference did it make between the Bai family and the Jin Kingdom? She had to understand that her life was not something she could control; this was the tragedy and helplessness of being born into an imperial family.

"Your Highness, are we really going to the Jin Kingdom for a marriage alliance?" When Rong'er asked this question, her voice was trembling with tears, her eyes were red, and a tear rolled down, leaving two faint watermarks on her cheek.

Zhao Yingluo reached out and stroked Rong'er's head, her clear smile full of affection: "If Rong'er is scared, I'll find a chance to send you out of the palace."

Zhao Yingluo knew that she would probably never be able to return to the Song Dynasty in this lifetime. Rong'er had been by her side since childhood. Although they were mistress and servant, she had long regarded Rong'er as her own sister and naturally did not want Rong'er to suffer with her.

"Rong'er isn't afraid at all. Wherever Your Highness goes, Rong'er will go." Rong'er wiped her snot and stopped crying, replaced by a resolute expression. "Rong'er is just sad for Your Highness. He shouldn't have gone to marry into the royal family."

As the mistress and servant were talking inside, another series of footsteps came from outside. Zhao Yingluo looked up and saw a royal eunuch carrying a yellow silk handkerchief approaching her.

After reading the imperial edict that Zhao Huan had just drafted, Zhao Yingluo shouted "Long live the Emperor!" and extended both hands to receive the letter of marriage from the eunuch: "His Majesty bestows upon Your Highness a thousand taels of gold and a hundred bolts of silk, which will serve as Your Highness's dowry. The national treasury is empty at present, and this is all His Majesty can offer. Please understand."

"Yingluo dares not."

The eunuch sighed softly: "If the peace talks go smoothly, the Jin army will soon return north. Your Highness, please make preparations in advance so as not to delay your journey. His Majesty said that the Song Dynasty will surely remember Your Highness's contributions, which would only cause unnecessary sorrow. Therefore, Your Highness will not see you off on the day of your departure."

"Then Yingluo will bid farewell to my royal brother here." Immediately afterwards, Zhao Yingluo bowed gracefully once again in the direction of Yanfu Palace.

After seeing off the eunuch who delivered the imperial decree, Zhao Yingluo opened the letter of state in her hand and found that her name was listed, but the list for her future husband was blank.

It seems this marriage agreement can only be completed after it reaches the Jin Kingdom. Will she be treated like a commodity by those Jin nobles, left to their own devices? Thinking of such a scene, even though she had made ample mental preparations, Zhao Yingluo's body still trembled involuntarily.

The marriage alliance was a done deal. Rong'er knew that no matter how unwilling she was, she had to go to Liaoyang with Zhao Yingluo. The imperial edict said that the Jin army might set off at any time, so she could only force herself to pack Zhao Yingluo's things.

With no lingering attachment in her heart, those things would only add to her sorrow. Zhao Yingluo only took one piece of jewelry that her mother had liked most before her death, and did not want to take anything else. It was as if she was completely severing ties with her past self.

"Then Your Highness won't bring this calligraphy and painting with you?"

Rong'er's reminder brought some light back to Zhao Yingluo's eyes. She stood up, walked over, took the scroll in her hand, and gently opened it. The few lines of text on it slowly came into view.

"The more you cherish it, the more charming and infatuated you become. A single strand of hair adorns your beautiful face. Alas, it was all just a dream, and now it's time to wake up from it."

After muttering a few words to herself, Zhao Yingluo slowly rolled up the scroll and put it back into the painting vat.

Her action puzzled Rong'er. After all, this was His Highness's favorite scroll of calligraphy and painting. Sometimes, Zhao Yingluo would stare at it in a daze, sometimes laughing and sometimes feeling melancholy, and she could sit there for an entire night. Now, she didn't even want to bring this scroll with her.

Two days later, Wanyan Xun entered the palace again and handed over the peace treaty signed by Wanyan Xie to the Song Dynasty. He then waited in front of the palace gate. After a short while, the palace gate slowly opened, and several carriages filed out from the side gate, with neatly arranged wooden boxes on the carriages.

"This is two million taels of gold and twenty million taels of silver as compensation to your country. Please take a look, General. As for the two thousand cattle and horses, they will be sent to Youzhou after the fundraising is completed."

Wanyan Xun opened one of the wooden boxes, inside which was a neatly stacked layer of gold ingots. He nodded, then pointed to a covered carriage following behind the caravan: "Is Princess Deshun of the Song Dynasty sitting inside?"

Having received confirmation from the eunuch, Wanyan Xun did not step forward to lift the carriage curtain to check. Instead, he mounted his warhorse, waved to the coachman, and walked at the head of the caravan with his head held high and chest out, displaying an arrogant and unruly demeanor that made the people of Tokyo outside the imperial city grit their teeth in frustration, yet feel helpless.

Despite the Song Dynasty winning the battle to defend the capital, it still had to cede territory and pay reparations to seek peace. This action by the court chilled the hearts of the people.

What other options were there besides seeking peace? Were they really just waiting to be destroyed? After all, the Jin army was fierce and skilled in battle, while the Song army was utterly ineffective.

I heard that in addition to ceding territory and paying reparations, the court also sent a princess to the Jin Kingdom for a marriage alliance. This is an utter disgrace. The current emperor is truly incompetent. In order to secure his throne, he actually sent his own sister to the Jin Kingdom to be used as a plaything. This is simply outrageous.

In the utter silence of the crowd, someone suddenly shouted, "Respectfully seeing off Her Highness the Princess as she leaves the city!" All the people present knelt down, and the sound of "Respectfully seeing off the Princess" echoed through the clouds.