Ok…this story takes place in the Qing Dynesty, during the reign of Emperor You Peng. It tells of how he meets with a princess, when nobody else believed that she could melt his stone heart. However, against all odds, they fall in love.
Charactors…
~ Qiu Wei Ge Ge ~[Vicki Zhao]
She is a distant relative of the You Peng, whom she has never met before the
story takes place. She is carefree, beautiful and charming. She was in love with
Wu Qi Long until she met You Peng.
~ Emperor You Peng~ [Alec Su]
a serious Emperor who is only concerned about the country’s affairs. He has no
feelings toward any of his concubines as they were all chosen by the Empress
Dowager.
~ Xin Guei Ren ~ [Ruby Lin]
the only concubine that You Peng feels comfortable with as they were childhood
friends, along with Zhi Ying. She herself is in love with Zhi Ying and feels
only sisterly affection for You Peng, who is well aware of that and trying his
best to help his friend and her get together.
~ General Lin Zhi Ying ~ [Jimmy Lin]
You Peng’s best friend and in love with Xin Ru.
~ Bing Guei Ren ~ [Fan Bing Bing]
Another concubine, who is plotting to be the queen. You Peng dislikes her
strongly.
~ Wu Qi Long ~[ Nicky Wu]
A son of an aristocrat and in love with Qiu Wei Ge Ge.
~Wang Yan Ge Ge~ [Rebecca Wang]
You Peng’s real sister.
~Yi Ling Ge Ge~ [Jolin Tsai]
Qiu Wei’s sister and secretly in love with Qi Long.
[ok, this sucks but I reallie dunno how to write chinese poetry, ok?] “Autumn days are sweet, staring into the stars that are your eyes. Autumn nights are magical, hearing the music that is you laughter.
Her lips curved into one of her slow sweet smiles. The poem was obviously written for her by Qi Long. She remembered the days they spent, playing in the fields, riding horses, lying in each others arms hearing the sounds of the waterfall or watching the stars…
She was carefully folding the fan up again when a pair of hands covered her hands.
“Guess who,” a deep voice whispered into her ear.
Qiu Wei grabbed his arms, laughing. Her big, beautiful eyes sparkled and her dimples deepened.
“Qi Long,” she let go of his wrists and picked the fan up. She chided him gently. “ What if you ruined the fan? I want to save it.”
Qi Long recklessly took the fan from her hands and threw it on the grass, where it immediately soaked through.
“I’ll make you another one.”
Qi Long slid his arms around Qiu Wei and drew her close to him. As she sank into his embrace, she could feel the rest of the world melt away…
He waved his hand distractedly. “Dispense. Xin Guei Ren...?”
Xin Ru looked up from her embroidery and smiled at him, when she saw that he was nervously pacing the room. Had something happened to Zhi Ying?
Quickly, she pardoned the maids and turned to You Peng with a worried smile on her face. You Peng swung round the minute he heard the door shut.
“Mother wants me to choose a empress and she want me to choose you.” He blurted out in a single breath.
Xin Ru could feel the blood drain from her face when she heard what he had said. No! Be the Empress of China, the mother of the middle kingdom? No! Never be able to marry Zhi Ying, bear his children and grow old with him? No! Having to stay in this palace which was as good as being in jail? No!
She shook her head, as if to rid it of all the thoughts that had raced through at top speed. She suddenly felt dizzy, as if she had to throw up.
You Peng bit his lip. “We’ll never get ourselves out of this mess,” he said glumly.
He paused before sitting down on the opium bed in the corner. “What’s more, there’s some visiting princess coming here to visit. I’m putting you in charge of taking care of her. I wouldn’t trust Bing Guei Ren anymore then I can throw her.”
Xin Ru looked up, interested. “Princess?” she asked, “of what country?”
“No,” You Peng responded, “ some distant relative. She lives in Luzhou but is staying here for a month or two. You take care of her, can?”
“When will she arrive?”
“The day after. Meanwhile I have to sort ourselves out of this mess.”
Still, she sighed and went to sit by her window. The night was cool, and she could hear the crickets outside her open window. Qi Long wasn’t going to let her go if he knew. She knew him well; he’d probably use this as an excuse to start a revolution or something. She thought of him starting a war with her young cousin.
Wait a minute. She frowned. You Peng was not a child anymore. She had met him, many many years ago on her family’s trip to Beijing. Back then he was a young boy, rather scrawny. She had been too young to know better and challenged him to a fight, and he promptly lost, ending with his face in the mud. She giggled, remembering the expression of her mother’s face.
The door to her room flew open. Xue Xin, Qiu Wei’s personal maid immediately bent her knees and greeted. “ Ling Ge Ge Ji Xiang.” Although they did not live in the palace, and such formalities were not compulsory, Qiu Wei’s parents had insisted that the servants all greet them in that way.
Yi Ling stopped across the room and sit down heavily on Qiu Wei’s bed. She pouted and grabbed the edge of her skirt. ”It’s not fair.” She declared.
Qiu Wei smothered a grin and sat down next to her. Glad to forget her troubles, if only for that minute, she patted her younger sister’s hair gently. “What’s not fair?”
“You get to get to go LIVE in the imperial palace, while I stay home. You are so lucky.”
Qiu Wei sighed. “I don’t want to go.”
“You don’t,” Yi Ling’s eyes widened. “ Oh, but you have to. Niang and Ah M’a are counting on you. It’s your family obligation.”
Qiu Wei smiled. Yi Ling had just made her realize what she had to do. She could always see Qi Long when she came back. But she couldn’t let her family down.
“Tai Hou Jia Dao! Xin Guei Ren Jia Dao!” the eunuch outside his study announced.
You Peng squeezed his eyes shut. This was not good. He did not need another session of pressurizing from his mother about making Xin Guei Ren the Empress. And with Xin Guei Ren here too. She had looked like she was about to faint when he had told her the news. Both of them knew what it meant if she were to become the queen. She was already having a hard time trying to conceal his relationship with Zhi Ying, and she was only a lowly “Guei Ren”. But to be the queen! She and Zhi Ying would probably self-destruct.
You Peng rose to his feet as his mother- his real mother- walked into the grand study. She was every bit as intimidating, cold, yet refined and splendid as her surroundings. “Mu Hou Ji Xiang.” She dismissed him with a flick of her hand. She sat down on one of the chairs.
“Huang Shang. Don’t work too hard.” She raised her eyes to her beloved son’s face.
You Peng winced. Here she would go. Don’t stress yourself down with too many state affairs. Make some time for Xin Guei Ren. Make some time to producing my grandson.
But surprisingly, the lecture did not come.
Instead, she told him, “Don’t forget that Zhang Qiu Wei is arriving tomorrow. You must treat her with the utmost hospitality. Her father, Zhang Da Ren, has done many great things for the Middle Kingdom. And your Fu Huang was very close to him, as he is Shan Guei Fei’s brother.”
Shan Guei Ren was one of his father’s concubines, one of his favorites, but his mother never seemed to mind her, and even doted on her. He supposed that was because Shan Guei Fei did not have any sons and did not pose as a threat to his mother’s position.
“Yes mother.”
“Who have you put in charge of her visit?”
“Xin Guei Ren.”
The Tai Hou looked disapproving, and was about to say something, when Xin Ru interrupted.
“Tai Hou. Please don’t worry. Chen Qie [I dunno what that means. I think it’s something like ‘a married woman’ or something.] will take good care of this important guest.”
The Empress Dowager’s face softened, and You Peng marveled at hoe well Xin Ru could handle her. She did indeed dote on her!
“But…I want you to …take care of other things…”
Xin Ru winced at the underlying meaning. But the sweet smile quickly replaced the look.
“Tai Hou, please allow Chen Qie to take on this task. I want to help Huang Shang as he is very busy with state affairs recently.” As she said this, Xin Ru bent her knees respectfully.
You Peng also added, “ Yes mother. I have already discussed this with Xin Ru.”
His mother seemed rather pleased at this. She stood up. “In that case, go ahead.” She held out her hand Xin Ru took it and helped her out of the room. Before they left, however, Xin Ru cast a pleading look behind her.
She smiled to herself. Maybe staying here won’t be so bad. She shut the curtain of the window in her carriage.
If only the attire wasn’t so…formal.
The Manchu dress was lovely, of course, and the embroidery was so fine. She stared down at the delicate peach sleeves with the flowers interwoven. It was really a beautiful silk dress, and it suited Qiu Wei to perfection. She tugged the pale green vest that went over the dress.
No, it wasn’t the dress. It was the shoes. They were ridiculously high, with a heel smack in the center of the sole. There was a cute little ball of fluff on the shoe as well. Qiu Wei had had a hard time climbing the stairs to the carriage.
She adjusted the headpiece, the large board with a huge flower in the middle and ran her hands over her hair to make sure none of the pretty hairpins had dropped. She couldn’t remember the last time that she had had so many things on her hair. Well, she’d better get used to it.
She absentmindedly tugged at one of the tassels that hung off the headpiece. Her mother had explained that servants could tell your rank from the decoration on the headpiece and the number of tassels on it. The palace maids wore the plainer ones. The most elaborate was naturally worn by the Empress Dowager.
Suddenly the carriage stopped and the curtain was pulled open. She saw that she was now in the heart of the palace, in front of the Emperor’s study. A eunuch helped her out of the carriage. She took a deep breath before accending the grand steps. Well, she thought. Here goes nothing.
Both Xin Ru, You Peng and the Empress dowager looked up. Here it was, the arrival of their Guei Ke.
You Peng didn’t know what he expected Wei Ge Ge to look like, but it was nothing like what he saw. What he did see, however was a breathtakingly beautiful woman. She had creamy white skin and red lips. And her eyes…they were so big and so, so luminous.
Then she bent her knees respectfully. “Tai Hou Ji Xiang. Huang Shang Ji Xiang.”
Their eyes met, and You Peng could hear himself inhale sharply. Qiu Wei’s eyes were open, honest eyes, yet they held a challenge, a mystery beneath them. They were huge too, bigger than anyone’s he had ever seen, even Xin Ru. Within the moments that Qiu Wei and him stared at each other, he concluded that she was stunning, an unmatchable beauty. He shook his head, breaking the spell. Since when had he started thinking like this?
Tai Hou smiled at Qiu Wei. “Welcome to Beijing, Wei Ge Ge.”
Qiu Wei looked at Tai Hou with an expression of someone who had just woke up.
Xin Ru stepped forward. “I’m Xin Guei Ren. You must be tired. Let me show you to your room. It’s at my place, Du Feng Gong. KeLong?”
KeLong stepped forward. “Yes Guei Ren?”
“Arrange for Ge Ge’s bags to be taken to Du Feng Gong.”
With that Xin Guei Ren and Qiu Wei left the study together, and the Tai Hou swept out of the room after them.
You Peng usually enjoyed the peace and quiet so that he could concentrate on his work. But today, he couldn’t seem to concentrate. Why? Because Qiu Wei’s ethereally beautiful face kept floating in his mind.
Qiu Wei looked at her in awe. She had never seen anyone as pretty as Xin Ru, with her delicate features and big shining eyes. In actual fact, of course, Qiu Wei was prettier, but she was probably too modest to admit it even to herself.
Xin Ru turned abruptly and gave Qiu Wei one of her rare smiles. Since moving into the palace, she had smiled many times, but not many were actually sincere. She liked this girl. She could see that she was spunky, a free spirit. Xin Ru hoped that they would be friends. You Peng seemed to like her too. In fact, You Peng seemed very taken with Qiu Wei. Perhaps a bit too much to be innocent? But, Xin Ru thought to herself, You Peng never noticed anyone.
She opened her mouth to say something but before she could, a eunuch interrupted her. “Bing Guei Ren Jia Dao!”
Qiu Wei watched as a stunning [okay, PUKE!] woman made her way towards Xin Ru. She noticed that Xin Ru’s back stiffened and her face tensed as she walked closer. Was there, perhaps, some rivalry between these two? Maybe they were competing to be the Huang Hou. Yes that must be it, she concluded.
Qiu Wei wasn’t completely right. Yes, Bing Guei Ren wanted to be the queen, desperately. She would stop at nothing to get the crown. Because getting the crown, in china, was the closest thing to immortality.
Xin Guei Ren, of course, would hate nothing more than to have the crown. No matter what, Bing Guei Ren still considered Xin Ru a threat to her position, as Xin Ru was obviously closer to the King and to the Empress Dowager.
Bing Bing gave Xin Ru an icy smile.
“This is…?” she looked Qiu Wei up and down. Qiu Wei took an instant dislike to this woman. Bing Bing seemed to decide that Qiu Wei belonged on enemy territory, and gave her a glare that was full of hatred.
“Oh…This is Qiu Wei Ge Ge. She’s staying with me.”
Xin Ru purposely left out Qiu Wei’s very distant relation to the king, and
Bing Bing automatically assumed that she was one of the Princesses that had
lived outside the palace with their mothers, the concubines of You Peng’s
father.
“Uhh…,” she scrambled to get on her knees. “Ge Ge Ji Xiang.”
Qiu Wei smothered a giggle and waved her hand as she had seen the empress dowager done. She then smiled condescendingly and swept away.
Once Bing Bing was out of sight, Xin Ru and Qiu Wei burst into loud, uncontrollable and very unladylike laughter. Even the maids trailing behind, JunYing and LuLing couldn’t control their laughter. Xin Ru glanced at Qiu Wei as another giggle escaped from her mouth. I was right, she thought. I do like this girl.
Qiu Wei gathered her legs up onto the bed. It was already nighttime, and she was in the guestroom of Du Feng Gong, trying to get to sleep. It had been an eventful day. After she had settled down, Xin Ru had brought her to the beautiful imperial garden for a stroll. Qiu Wei was enraptured to see the many beautiful flowers in one compound, yet in her simple, sweet way, wondered why they were in this forbidden place, not in the public where it was for everyone to enjoy.
Qiu Wei leaned back against her k’ang. She bit her lip and gingerly removed her shoe. Ick! Her foot was all black and blue and her heel was bleeding. “ Shen Yu,” she called to a maid that stood in the corner. Shen Yu stepped forward. “Yes, Ge Ge?”
“Could you and Luo Yun get me a basin of ice and some bandages?”
“Is Ge Ge injured?” Luo Yun asked with a concerned face.
“No…my feet just hurt a bit, that’s all.” Qiu Wei moved her feet out of sight from the two maids, not wanting them to make a fuss
The two of them scurried out of the room like mice. The room was silent. Qiu Wei glanced at the blank scrolls of writing paper on the desk across the room. Qi Long. She closed her eyes and pictured his face. His mysterious bottomless eyes… his perfect straight nose …full thick lips…
Wait! She realized that it was not Qi Long’s face that was in her mind’s eye, but You Peng’s distinguished features. Her eyes flew open at this sudden realization. What was she thinking? She pressed her fingers against her temples. She was….distracted, that was all. Too many things had happened that day, and her mind was hazy. She rested her forehead against the cool redwood headboard of the k’ang, trying to clear her thoughts. But she couldn’t even control her own thoughts.
