The imperial erhu maiden - Chapter 1
Looking back, it was 2 months ago.
My busy father rarely showed up for dinner, and after dinner, he told me to “come to my room”.
Considering my age of 17, I could have predicted that I would be told to marry into some family.
As the daughter of the Yanagi family, one of the 5 great families, I have known since childhood that I cannot choose my own marriage partner.
Therefore, I headed to my father’s room with a feeling of resignation.
When I opened the lacquered door, my brother was standing in front of my father’s chair, and he also seemed to be wondering why he had been called.
When he saw me, he smiled just a little.
I also smiled faintly and looked at my brother. Our father calmly told us the purpose of the meeting.
“Rinfu has been decided to participate in the selection ceremony as a candidate for Empress.”
“……”
Candidate for Empress.
Selection ceremony.
I’ve never had such words come to my mind.
My brother also stopped moving, and seemed to have no other reaction than “huh?”.
His Majesty the Emperor is 5 years old.
The previous emperor died 2 years ago at the young age of 30, and the Empress returned to her home country last year.
As it is, I hear that the younger brother of the previous emperor, Souren-sama, is in charge of politics.
Souren-sama is the emperor’s proxy, the highest ranking government official, and the only member of the imperial family besides His Majesty the Emperor.
My brother works as a senior official in Souren-sama’s government palace.
He should be more familiar with the situation than I am regarding the selection of the Empress, but it seems that this is the first time he has heard the story of “my sister is a candidate for Empress”.
My brother twitched his face, as if he wanted to say, “Are you kidding me?”.
“Father.”
“What is it?”
“Rinfu is 17 but?”
“I know.”
My brother’s doubt is reasonable.
However, my father wants me to aim for Empress with full knowledge.
“You want me to be a decorative concubine?”
My brother’s voice quivered a little.
This is the first time I have seen my usually carefree brother, who is not at all like our strict father, so shaken.
“Rinfu has a modest appearance, but to say the least, she is quite outspoken, so she is not suited to be an Empress.”
My brother tried to dissuade me by saying that, but my father replied as usual without changing his expression.
“It’s for the Yanagi family. Besides, it’s not yet decided that you will become Empress. It’s been decided that you will be in the selection ceremony.”
At that time, I heard from my father that I would be “performing dance and erhu at the selection ceremony”, and that “His Majesty the Emperor, 5 years old, Souren-sama, and the nation’s dignitaries” would be present.
Beside me, my brother frowned and desperately opposed the idea.
“Father, what’s gotten into you!? No matter how much of an Empress she is, to marry Rinfu off to a 5-year-old…! What if His Majesty dies of heartache!?”
That’s a terrible thing to say.
Of course I wouldn’t bully His Majesty the Emperor, who is only 5 years old!
I glared at my brother with narrowed eyes.
“Have you forgotten that you set up a meeting for me last year? The other party was willing to go along, but you asked ‘when will this story end?’ face-to-face, didn’t you…”
My brother dug up the past, and I retorted.
“I don’t like men who try to boost their own self-esteem by speaking ill of others! That man must have wanted me to flatter him by saying ‘wow’ and ‘wonderful’, but after listening to a long-winded made-up boast about oneself and mocking others, I feel like saying something.”
“W-well that”
“Besides, that man even said bad things about you, Brother!? ‘It’s ridiculous for the heir of the Yanagi family to call out to a court lady in the palace’ and so on…”
I think that making light of my brother, who is a partner in the meeting, is nothing short of common sense.
I absolutely refuse to spend my life with such a person.
“Did you defend me, Rinfu?”
My brother asked, furrowing his brow.
“No, but it was true, so I let it go.”
“That’s where you defend him!? Object!?”
Ignoring my begging brother, I turned my attention to my father.
“Is it your order to attend the banquet as a candidate for Empress?”
My father answered calmly as before.
“It’s not yet decided. Besides, I’ll give you a choice.”
Sharp eyes were directed at me.
I am used to it so it is not scary, but it is certain that the choices prepared by my father are not pleasant, and I was enveloped in tension.
“There are 3 choices. The first is to be chosen as the Empress at the selection ceremony. The second is to be noticed by Souren-sama, who is attending the banquet.”
Eh, by Souren-sama?
I flinch involuntarily.
Souren-sama, the younger brother of the previous emperor, is 24 years old.
I have never met him in person, but I have heard from the maids that he is a very handsome man who is loved by many.
And he is a womanizer.
It is rumored that he keeps many beautiful women in his palace, regardless of their status.
My brother, who is a subordinate of Souren-sama, is also a womanizer who flirts with women whenever he sees them, so I was worried about the government because the superiors and subordinates were in cahoots.
Anyway, if it’s Souren-sama, who will do anything, there is a possibility that he will let me into his palace, but my father must have been trying to sell me off to him before.
But Souren-sama never agreed to meet me.
Since I’ve never met him, it’s not because my appearance isn’t to his taste.
Perhaps, he has no intention of reaching out to the daughters of a strict family like the Five Great Families.
In this case, the possibility is zero as long as I’m the daughter of the Yanagi family.
Furthermore, I don’t want to marry a man who has been a womanizer with lovers from the beginning.
I would like to ask for someone with a good reputation as far as possible.
The choices offered by his father, both the first and the second option, were not quite acceptable.
My father understood my feelings and finally mentioned the third option.
“The third will be to marry the clan’s Hiroto of the Li family. It’s a 21-year-old martial artist with a good reputation as a reliable man.”
““Li Clan!!””
My voice and my brother’s overlapped.
No wonder, the Li family is a long-standing rival, and even though they pretend to be friendly on the surface, the family feud is quite significant.
If I marry Hiroto, the eldest son of the Li family, I will be forced to marry into my family home so that I can leak information to him.
They would also treat me as a hostage, and I would have to live under tremendous tension.
My brother said with a paler face than mine.
“Hiro is a good man, but not the Li family…”
Right. I agree.
But I can’t disobey what my father says. My father has never changed his mind before.
“What are you going to do, Rinfu?”
My father urged me to answer, knowing that I could not disobey him.
I’m so regretful and sad, and I hate how powerless I am.
Of course, I won’t starve in any of the choices.
I will be able to live a rich life as before.
Even so, it still doesn’t cheer me up.
A 5-year-old emperor, a womanizer, or an enemy infiltrate?
What kind of choice is this!?
Isn’t it too cruel!?
No matter how much I complain in my heart, the head of the family’s word is absolute.
I have no choice but to───
“I will participate in the Selection Ceremony…”
I could only answer with a sigh, unable to do anything else.