Princess Ruyi, the fifth princess, had her story told to Wang Qingyao by Xiao Yun.
An imperial decree was issued for Princess Ruyi to depart for Goryeo for a political marriage after the Lantern Festival.
Upon receiving the decree, Princess Ruyi remained silent, but she fell ill that very night.
"This isn't the first time she's fallen ill," Xiao Yun said. "For the past few years, as she approached marriageable age, whenever the Emperor hinted at a political marriage, she would feign illness."
This time, Princess Ruyi feigned illness again, and not just any illness, but smallpox.
In ancient times, smallpox was equivalent to a terminal illness, highly contagious.
The imperial physicians examined her once. Princess Ruyi's face was covered in pustules, remarkably similar to smallpox.
The physicians treated her as if she had smallpox.
The Goryeo prince, upon hearing the news, proactively approached the Emperor and expressed his sincerity: "Regardless of the princess's health, no matter how she looks, she will be our Goryeo queen. I will wait for the princess to recover, no matter how long it takes..."
The Emperor was deeply moved.
Princess Ruyi was in despair.
Her illness was indeed feigned; the powder that caused the pustules was given to her by Wei Yu.
The medicine's effect lasted only one day.
She had expected that upon learning she had smallpox, the Goryeo prince would eagerly abandon her and return to Goryeo.
Unexpectedly, this fellow was "devoted until death."
Princess Ruyi was at her wit's end. Finally, with a heavy heart, she ruptured several pustules on her face, leaving wounds.
The wounds were deep; even if she healed, she would be left with pockmarks.
To complete the act, smallpox typically took seven to eight days to recover. On the ninth day, yesterday, under the ceaseless and painstaking care of the imperial physicians, Princess Ruyi finally recovered.
She presented herself to the Emperor with a face full of dark spots to beg for forgiveness.
"Your unworthy daughter has failed your Majesty's trust. With such a countenance, I am truly unfit to be the Queen of Goryeo. To avoid affecting the diplomatic relations between our Great Sheng and Goryeo, I implore your Majesty to select another candidate for the political marriage."
The Emperor, enraged, smashed a teacup at Princess Ruyi's feet.
Yet, he was utterly helpless.
He knew she had done this to herself. He had not expected his daughter to be so ruthless to herself to avoid a political marriage.
At this moment, the Goryeo prince again expressed his sincerity.
"Your Majesty, as I have said, no matter how the princess looks, she will be our Goryeo queen."
With Princess Ruyi's current disfigured state, the Emperor felt somewhat embarrassed to proceed with the marriage.
Upon hearing the Goryeo prince's words, he was simply stunned.
The prince continued, "Love for a person cannot be solely based on their appearance; it must be for their beautiful heart. The princess is kind-hearted, intelligent, and well-mannered..."
The Goryeo prince rattled off seven or eight idioms in one breath to express the Goryeo people's highest admiration for Princess Ruyi.
The praise was so effusive that even the Emperor found it hard to listen.
Princess Ruyi gritted her teeth in hatred.
What nonsense about love! The Goryeo prince and the Goryeo King didn't even know her. What love was there!
As a woman, she had no power to decide her own marriage.
As a princess, she had a responsibility to sacrifice her marriage for the nation.
Yet, all she wanted was to be a selfish woman.
She knelt on the ground, weeping, and pleaded with the Goryeo prince, "Your Highness, please let me go. I am like this, please let me go. I can give you any amount of money you want, any beauty you desire, I will find her for you. Please, let me go!"
As she spoke, tears and snot streamed down her face, a truly horrifying sight against the backdrop of dark spots.
The Emperor roared, "Ruyi!"
The Goryeo prince tenderly helped her up and even took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears.
He gazed at her with a slight smile, "Princess, how can such a kind woman like you be measured by money? The people of Goryeo love you. Please, become our queen!"
Princess Ruyi caught a hint of malicious amusement in the Goryeo prince's gentle face.
He was doing this on purpose!
She stumbled back a few steps in horror.
The Goryeo prince steadied her and, seizing the opportunity, whispered in her ear, "You can also take your own life, but even if you do, I will bring your corpse back to Goryeo."
He was doing this on purpose!
Princess Ruyi's eyes widened with fury, and she was utterly despairing.
She accepted her fate.
At the same time, she deeply regretted her actions. Since the outcome couldn't be changed, why had she disfigured herself?
A disfigured princess, in a foreign land, with an elderly husband and no children, what hope could she possibly have?
After the Lantern Festival, Princess Ruyi departed with the Goryeo envoy's retinue.
Later, it was heard that the Goryeo King had breathed his last on the very day of their wedding.
The sixty-six-year-old Goryeo King had not much time left to live anyway.
However, rumors in the palace said that the Goryeo King had been scared to death by the new queen.
Princess Ruyi, now the new queen, only held the title for a few hours before becoming the Empress Dowager.
Later, the prince inherited the throne and imprisoned the Empress Dowager in a small courtyard. She was provided with fresh food daily but was forbidden from speaking to anyone.
The Empress Dowager, already unable to understand the language, and with no one to talk to, soon fell into a state of melancholy and became bedridden.
The new Goryeo King was very filial and had imperial physicians treat the Empress Dowager with the best medicine, allowing her to linger on for over three years before finally passing away.
Of course, these were all matters of the future.
For now, Wang Qingyao had recovered her health. It was the Lantern Festival, so she dressed up and went out with Xiao Yun and their two children to play.
The streets were bustling with activity, a throng of people, with various lanterns and colorful lights hanging everywhere. The sounds of hawking and laughter filled the air.
This was Pingping and An'an's first time going out.
They were over six months old and completely fine.
However, the Old Imperial Consort was worried. Not only did she send their wet nurse and governess along, but she also assigned several guards to accompany them.
She feared any potential accidents.