Yi Ji POV
Court will be in session soon.
The sky is still dark out as I and several other key officials in Xiangyang hurry towards our lord’s residence to begin today’s Court session.
It’s a good thing that this isn’t the capital as Court sessions are only a weekly affair here.
That said, as an official in charge of ceremonies working under a feudal lord who places especially high importance on ceremonies, perhaps going to Court is easier.
*Cha* *Cha* *Cha* *Cha*…
All officials around were drenched in sweat by now.
Though it was still summer, it wasn’t particularly hot, but formal official clothing was rather thick, and there were more than a hundred paces between the residence and the main entrance so everyone was rather strained,
My clothing is the standard issue for ceremonial officials and didn’t have long cumbersome skirts so it was cooler and easier to move about in. But for the sake of not standing out, I too took small steps like everyone else as I made my way inside.
Though I’m a ceremonial official, I personally find these rules and proprieties to be troublesome.
Why do you have put the offerings in that particular manner and why do you have to do all these prerequisite steps? These doubts swirl about in my head every time my lord pays respects to his ancestors. Personally speaking, the usual reasons of ancestral rules and demands isn’t satisfactory.
“Lord Yi Ji, why isn’t the young mistress around today?” Along with me was Wen Ping, who had shed her battle gear and was now wearing official gowns. I looked at her and saw her rolling her sleeves up with one hand, looking very awkward in her present garb.
“The young mistress has patrol duty today and is currently at the north side of the city,” I replied and continued to inspect her, “I won’t pursue the matter of you rolling up your sleeves but proprieties demand for a long skirt, and that means you can’t hold it up either.”
I shifted my gaze downwards and saw Wen Ping using her hands to hold up her long skirt up to her knees, revealing her calves, which was highly inappropriate for Court.
Though I don’t care about it personally speaking, it is my job as a ceremonial officer to uphold these standards and rules and if my lord should see this, his admonishment will be far worse than mine.
“There’s so much things to bother about. That’s why I hate appearances,” Wen Ping complained as she released her long skirt, “Can things like appearances really save the people of Jing state from danger?”
There’s probably nothing more important than the people of Jing state in Wen Ping’s heart.
“Saving the people is one thing, appearances is another. It is possible to achieve both as they are not mutually exclusive pursuits.” I admonished Wen Ping. Though she speaks little, she always does things as she is told to do so. That said, she often keeps her thoughts to herself which is not a good thing in the long run.
I looked at Wen Ping and saw that she was frowning and pulled her hat down lower to block the rays of sunlight. Seems like the sun has made it past the horizon and is climbing now. And yet, after so long has passed, we still have not reached our destination. Is this path really just a hundred paces?
“… I heard that Imperial Uncle came a few days ago?”
“Un, yes,” I nodded, “So you know as well huh?”
“The young mistress…”
“That will do, I understand now.” I nodded and told Wen Ping there was no need to continue as I understood what she meant.
That day, after Imperial Uncle left, I immediately told the young mistress when she returned.
“Is that so?” The young mistress only gave a simple acknowledgement which was just as I expected but just as I was about to turn and leave, the young mistress called out to me once more.
“What else did uncle say?” She asked with her back to me.
But he didn’t say anything else beyond what I’d described to her before so all I could do was repeat what I said with finer details I’d left out before.
“I see.” The young mistress acknowledged what I said simply once more.
“Hmph, he didn’t need to go to so much trouble.” But once again, before I could leave, the young mistress began uttering once more.
“I see… Uncle came to apologise huh, even though he didn’t need to.” Thereafter, the young mistress repeated similar words over and over for a very long time as though she went mad.
Even though I expected the young mistress to be comforted or even feel happy at hearing that Imperial Uncle came to apologise, I didn’t expect her reaction to be so weird.
I felt worried as I thought about this and asked Wen Ping who’d been with her more often these days, “Is the young mistress alright these days?”
“Apart from having a lot to say, nothing much else.”
She’s not alright then…
I don’t know if Imperial Uncle’s visit was a trigger but it’s also probably because the young mistress has some words she would like to say to Imperial Uncle. Unfortunately, Imperial Uncle was preoccupied with the preparations to move out to Xinye and the young mistress was busy preparing herself for the long haul. So whenever she gets some free time to herself, she keeps muttering to herself.
… Never mind, this is something good for the young mistress as well. At the very least, it will serve to motivate her.
When I meet Imperial Uncle again later on, I must remember to tell him, that when the young mistress has achieved some level of success and independence, he should give her some praise.
“Is it very serious, elder sister?”
“Very serious indeed.”
Just then, 2 figures who moved in unison went past me. One was wearing a long blue gown while the other was wearing a short red skirt.
Even without hearing their voices or looking at their faces, I can tell who they are just from their shadows. As I cast my eyes forward, I saw Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue, who were by now 3-4 paces ahead of me.
If this were normal times, I wouldn’t ask about them nor even listen in on their conversations as they have nothing to do with myself.
But this time, I couldn’t help but hasten my pace when I heard their initial exchange and do my best not to be found out whilst being close enough to listen in.
I have to show some results for the mission the young mistress has given me after all.
Something is very serious? What is it?
Even though Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue are not in the same faction as the Cai sisters, they are very displeased with Imperial Uncle so things will be different with regards to him.
“So, there’s an issue with Dilu?” Kuai Yue said just as I caught up to them.
Dilu is… The horse belonging to the bandit which Lord Lu Bu apprehended right?
“There is. I thought that our lord would use Dilu as a gift or perhaps as a display of sorts but I’ve caught sight of our lord using it as his personal horse.” Kuai Liang said, in a much more anxious tone than usual which was devoid of much of the usual cheer she had in her voice.
“Dilu is a prize horse to begin with so what’s wrong with our lord using it as his personal horse?”
“That horse brings bad luck to its owners!”
“Eh?”
Eh?
Kuai Yue and I both responded in surprise, albeit me doing so in my heart.
Dilu brings bad luck to its owners?
“Elder sister, is that really true? Dilu is an extraordinary horse. It should bring victory to its owners yet you say it brings bad luck?”
“I’ve looked into Dilu’s eyes and from its gleam, I can tell that it’s a horse that’s fit for the greatest of warriors and kings. I don’t know where that bandit got Dilu, but after riding on it, he is now locked in prison awaiting judgement. This is proof that it brings bad luck to its owners.”
“Such a conclusion may be a little too premature.”
“It will be too late if we wait for something to happen.”
Un… Kuai Yue sank into thought for moment before responding, “But even if it is as elder sister says, and that horse brings bad luck to its owners, will our lord be willing to follow what we suggest if we tell it to him as it is?”
“Whether he is willing or not, we must tell him so.”
“Hai… What a waste of a good horse.” Kuai Yue sighed.
After listening to all this, I could finally rest easy. At the end of the day, it’s just about the horse and has nothing to do with Imperial Uncle.
As I thought so, I slowly slowed my pace and set aside my vigilance.
“Lord Yi Ji, why did you walk so fast?” Wen Ping asked as she caught up with me. Looks like she detected that my actions weren’t normal.
“No, I thought there was something but it turned out to be nothing.” I gave an ambiguous reply, “But leaving me aside, Wen Ping, you really ought to take off that hat of yours. Even if you don’t want to wear the official hat, you shouldn’t wear such an improper hat. Our lord will have a lot to say if he sees you in it.”
As a ceremonial official, I have to perform my duties.
Thereafter, we soon approached the hall used for Court sessions. We waited outside as a master of ceremonies gave us instructions and then we shuffled inside in order of our official ranks.
Though this isn’t the Imperial Court, we still perform every rite and observe all proprieties which are performed and observed at the Imperial Court. Naturally, I followed my lord to Luoyang to learn about all of this. And it was me who was responsible for passing on this knowledge and arranging everything.
Yes, back then Luoyang hadn’t been razed to the ground and the Emperor was sitting on the throne. However, he didn’t speak, and everything was handled by the eunuchs.
Thereafter, I gave the master of ceremonies a signal to begin the routine. He yelled and all retainers knelt down. Along with some drum beats, our lord finally stepped out.
All retainers paid their respects followed by our lord, who then sat down. Only after he sat down did all of us kneel down.
I looked to the left and the right of our lord but couldn’t find the young mistress nor the second young mistress anywhere.
By the way, the young mistress rarely misses Court while the second young mistress usually misses Court, not because of laziness but because of her hectic schedule.
To be honest, it isn’t easy for the second young mistress as well. Not to mention her role in the inheritance struggle is decided by her mother, not her.
“Alright, let us forgo the pleasantries.”
Surprisingly, our lord actually decided to do away with his ramblings. Usually, he would always begin Court with some story about the royal family and its achievements.
Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue would always listen with relish but I can’t do that. I don’t understand them nor do I want to. Though the world still belongs to the Great Han, such knowledge is not necessary.