Xing went to her father"s study to ask her father about sending her to the Inner Palace. It won"t be hard in this situation since everyone in the court is insisting on that.Rijun had told her that only her father and the Emperor is against the idea of Huang Mingxia entering the palace apart from him. s.h.i.+hong had made sure that everyone thinks that Huang AoTian has to send his daughter to the Palace for the sake of the kingdom"s prosperity and the Emperor"s wellbeing.
"Father, send me to the inner palace", Xing said bluntly to her father. Her heart was beating fast and she couldnot look her father in the eyes but she needs to do that.
"Mingxia", her father"s voice was rather cold, "If its about me being pressured by others, you don"t have to worry about that. Father can handle them"
"No father, I need to enter the inner palace", Xing said in a soft voice.
"Do you know what you are asking? Do you think this is a joke?", AoTian shouted and angrily pushed the teacup by his side on the floor making smas.h.i.+ng noises.
"Look at me", AoTian told her and Xing looked at her father"s judgmental glare and s.h.i.+fted her gaze immediately. He is right to do so, Xing thought. If anyone can judge her for doing what she is doing, it should be her father. This man had lived loyal to his wife who was presumed to be dead for seventeen years even when women literally threw themselves at him.
But here I am, willing to enter the palace the moment he disappears!
"Father, I very well know and understand what I am doing. But I need to do it nonetheless", she said her voice gentle and her eyes still could not face him.
" Why?... What if I disagree?", AoTian asked after a long pause. AoTian looked at his daughter with a guilty expression. His daughter had never felt guilty about anything she had done till now and if she is doing this now she must have a pretty valid reason.
" I need to do it and if you disagree, I"ll ask the Oldman"s help. He owes me one", Xing was clear.
Xing could see her father clenching his fists hard and she knew he was controlling himself from las.h.i.+ng out on her. But what should be done has to be done and it is only temporary. She cannot disclose every information even to her family since she"s being watched by the G.o.ds.
"What are you going to tell Shengli when he comes back? Will he still trust you and accept you? " AoTian wanted to ask her but didn"t, seeing her not as carefree as she usually is.
There was an awful silence in the study when Rijun came in and sent her away. Xing went back to her courtyard and was hoping Shengli would return somehow before she leaves her home.
Preparations were being done in full swing in sending her off. AoTian arranged a horde of maids along with Xu mama to serve her in the palace. But Xing refused them because Lady Shaoyao had sent her some women from the Heavenly Flowers Palace who are well trained in handling other women.
Xing had no other purpose than to live in a corner of the inner palace not even acknowledging her presence there until Shengli returns and takes her out.
But Xing knew she always ended up in trouble with other women for no apparent reason and she knew when a group of women live together in a place it will only be filled with drama and she wanted to stay away from it. That can only be achieved with smart and experienced people working for her.
Xing also wanted to only take the fifth or sixth rank Concubine rank but apparently the court had decided that a Huang Young Miss should at least be a second rank Consort.
So a week after Xing asked her father to send her to the inner palace with only two months for her eighteenth birthday, she was dressed in all red and all her hair was pulled into a bridal hairstyle with many hairpins pinned and a phoenix hairdress. Her face was painted with makeup and a Red veil was placed over her face.
Xing took a deep breath and prayed in her heart for Shengli"s magical return. She hoped the announcement of her entering the inner palace to have reached him and he appeared at the last moment in a horse like the lead in some of the books she had read and steal her away.
But seems like she didn"t have that fortune!
Xing had already refused any kind of wedding ceremony to be held and she didn"t know how her father had managed to get that permission but she got on the carriage by herself.
She was only dressed as a bride and did none of the other ceremonies till she reached the courtyard that was allotted for her in the inner palace.
Through the way, she could see her family members acting like they were on a funeral march than a bridal parade. She herself felt bad leaving the place she had accepted as home. In the past four months this is the second time she is leaving her home. Once when her mother pa.s.sed away and now, when her prince disappeared.
AoTian, in a normal circ.u.mstance, even if his daughter didn"t have someone else in her heart, never would have sent his daughter to the inner palace. He knew of the curse of the inner palace.
"Once you get in, even your corpse cannot get out"
But his daughter had made the decision and nothing around his daughter is simple and so he had a little bit faith that everything will turn out to be fine somehow.
Rijun was worried that the Emperor was furious that AoTian had cornered him by announcing that he"ll send his daughter to the inner palace as it was the wish of everyone. He could not even refuse that in a court that had agreed to it unanimously including Lord Ran.
Rijun wondered how her life in the inner palace would be like since his sister is not cunning or scheming like other women in there. But she was the one who asked for it. With no support but the "Huang" name, how would she survive there?