When Ji Yichen was born, she wasn’t called by this name. Her imperial father had long ago selected over a hundred gentle and elegant names suitable for a daughter, waiting for her to choose one herself. Unfortunately, before she could reach the age for the name-choosing ceremony, Ji Yichen fell gravely ill.
Yan Xiao said this illness was brought from the womb. Ming Yi had been poisoned, weakening her constitution, and Ji Yichen, Ming Yi’s first child, was somewhat affected. However, it wasn’t too severe. After recovering from the illness, she was only left with an unusual physique that made her prone to gaining weight, but it didn’t threaten her life.
Nevertheless, Ji Bozai was frightened. To protect his daughter’s well-being, he gave her his surname and Ming Yi’s given name, adding the character “Chen,” typically reserved for imperial use, to form her name. He also bestowed upon her the title of Princess Changle.
Thus, everyone in the Six Cities knew that Princess Changle was exceptionally favored. Whether it was the emperor or the queen, even the usually stern Master She, they all allowed her to ride on their necks, happily carrying her around.
Before the age of fourteen, Ji Yichen grew up immersed in love, without worries or hardships, surrounded only by doting parents and a brother with a gruff exterior but a soft heart.
However, after turning fourteen, as she watched her peers at the academy grow taller and develop slender figures, while she remained a little round ball, Ji Yichen felt distressed.
“Mother, did you forget to give me a waist when I was born?” she asked Ming Yi, cupping her hands to form a small circle. “Everyone else has such a slim waist. Shouldn’t I have one too?”
Ming Yi held her in her arms and gently said, “You have a waist, it’s just a bit rounder. But round is beautiful too. In our Qing Yun, we don’t consider only thinness as beauty. You’re beautiful as you are.”
Her mother never lied to her, even if what she said wasn’t quite right—Qing Yun did currently consider thinness as beauty—her mother would think of ways to promote the idea that both plump and thin could be beautiful after saying it.
Ji Yichen knew her mother meant well, but she still felt sad. Who doesn’t want to wear pretty dresses? Who doesn’t want to be praised by the new teacher as “unparalleled in grace”?
A new teacher in his twenties had recently joined her Yuan Shi Academy. He was like a cool breeze, with eyes like the cold moon. All the female students secretly admired him, and she was no exception.
However, the teacher seemed to prefer slimmer girls. He smiled when discussing martial arts with them, but when he faced her, his expression instantly became serious, with a faint hint of detachment.
Ji Yichen was unhappy. She wanted to lose some of her weight.
Her classmate Hai Lan advised her, “You didn’t become like this from overeating. You already eat very little. Eating even less would be bad for your health.”
“But I want to be slender,” Ji Yichen clenched her small fists, gazing at the teacher standing with his back to them in the distant courtyard.
She changed her breakfast from normal porridge and side dishes to a small piece of corn. For lunch, she ate no meat, just some vegetables with brown rice. She skipped dinner altogether, only drinking a few sips of clear soup before diligently practicing her skills.
After a month of hard work, she finally… gained two ounces.
Looking at the weight on the other end of the scale, tears welled up in Ji Yichen’s eyes.
As if on cue, Ji Mingchen came to visit her, bringing famous shortbread from East Market Street. As he walked in, he called out, “Sister, come and try this.”
Ji Yichen burst into tears.
For a month, she had resisted the urge to eat shortbread countless times. Even when her stomach growled loudly at night, as if a thousand hands were pulling her towards the kitchen, she had held firm. Why couldn’t she lose weight?
Ji Mingchen was stunned by her sudden outburst of tears. Before he could hand over the shortbread, their father swept in like a whirlwind, grabbing him and shoving him into a corner, growling, “Why are you upsetting your sister for no reason?”
“It’s not fair!” Ji Mingchen raised his hands. “Your son just bought her some shortbread…”
Ming Yi also arrived, holding Ji Yichen in her arms and gently patting her back. “Don’t cry. You’ve already tried your best.”
It was precisely because she had tried her best that she felt even worse. Ji Yichen believed she was destined to be a chubby person for the rest of her life, never receiving praise or favor from the teacher.
She began to speak less and always chose dark blue or indigo clothes. In class, she sat in the corner, never asking the teacher questions or talking to those around her.
Hai Lan was worried about her and went to pay respects to Ming Yi, casually mentioning the matter to the teacher.
“You mean Li Shaoling?” Ming Yi frowned.
“Yes,” Hai Lan sighed. “For some reason, he’s kind to all the other female students but seems cold towards the princess.”
Ming Yi sighed, “Have you considered that he might be wary of the princess’s status, rather than because he thinks Zhen’er is chubby?”
Li Shaoling came from a humble background and was exceptionally talented. He had been promoted to a teaching position at the Yuan Shi Academy despite his low birth. He was reluctant to associate with the princess for fear of ruining his career prospects, as the rule in all cities was that a prince consort couldn’t participate in politics.
This rule was strict, but many noble families and city rulers’ inner courts only had one daughter. To prevent ill-intentioned people from seizing their family assets, they all followed this rule—a daughter’s descendants could inherit the family business, but a son-in-law could not.
The treatment was the same as for each family’s daughter-in-law.
Ming Yi felt this rule was fair, after all, men who agreed to marry into their wives’ families had already accepted that they would have to give up certain things. But she never imagined that one day her daughter would admire a man with great ambitions.
What could be done about this?
She was worried.
When Ming Yi worried, it drove Ji Bozai to distraction. He didn’t care about ambitions or ideals. What ambitions could a man with ordinary blue meridians have? He summoned Li Shaoling to the palace with an imperial edict and asked him directly, “Are you willing to be my daughter’s prince consort?”
His reasoning was clear: if he asked like this and the man was unwilling, then that would be the end of it, and Zhen’er could completely give up her hopes. If he was willing, then everyone, especially his precious Yi’er, wouldn’t have to worry so much.
However, Ji Bozai overlooked the intimidating aura he had cultivated over the years.
Even when he wasn’t smiling, he was imposing. Add to that the fact that only he and Li Shaoling were in the great hall, and Li Shaoling felt as if a dark, heavy Yuan Power was pressing down on his head, threatening to separate his head from his body if he answered incorrectly.
He refused to become a prince consort. Once he did, he would lose the opportunity to enter officialdom and would be reduced to living off his wife, becoming a subject of ridicule. Any man with self-respect would be ashamed of this.
But he also didn’t want to die just like that.
So, on a peaceful afternoon, just as Ji Yichen had finished her classes and was sitting alone in the back garden contemplating martial arts techniques, she sensed someone standing in front of her.
She opened her eyes and looked up in confusion to see Li Shaoling addressing her with an awkward expression, “Your dress today is quite lovely, though the color is a bit dark.”
“…” She was a bit slow to react.