"The Emperor has arrived!"
"Greetings Your Majesty, Your Majesty is well!"
There weren't as many flashy formalities back then. Even when meeting the Emperor, a respectful bow was usually sufficient. Kneeling or even half-kneeling was reserved for more solemn occasions.
Only major events like celestial sacrifices or enthronements required a full kowtow.
Furthermore, the Empress Dowager never needed to bow to the Emperor; rather, the Emperor had to pay respects to her.
Therefore, when Dugu Xiao entered, Ding Yun merely stood and bent her knees slightly in greeting, saying, "Greetings, Father Emperor."
The Empress Dowager, meanwhile, remained seated without moving.
Dugu Xiao, however, hurried forward: "Greetings, Mother. Why have you summoned A'Luan to the palace?"
"What, do I need your permission to see my granddaughter?"
Perhaps because she had been chatting happily with Ding Yun, the Empress Dowager was somewhat displeased with her son, who had upset her granddaughter. Her tone was a little sharp, leaving Dugu Xiao momentarily stunned.
Even without fully understanding, he forced a smile: "Of course not. I was merely curious."
With that, he shot a cold glance at Ding Yun and said, "From now on, you will behave yourself. The previous dynasty has fallen, and you are now merely the Grand Princess. Do you understand? Do not dwell on the past. You don't want to marry. Do you think the Duke of Jin wants to marry you?"
With a moment's thought, Dugu Xiao immediately realized that his mother's sudden coolness was certainly due to her unfortunate daughter complaining to her. He immediately turned and warned Ding Yun without ceremony, his tone full of displeasure.
Ding Yun, of course, immediately looked very wronged and quickly hugged the Empress Dowager's arm again, feigning fear: "Grandmother, look, Father Emperor is threatening me again. And wasn't I right earlier? Duke Jin is so old this year, it's not an exaggeration to say he could be my father. His eldest son is a year older than me, and he already has grandchildren. He's practically a grandfather. You say my daughter is not yet two years old, and she's going to be a grandmother to someone else. Is that proper? What kind of father would be so heartless! Even those who sell their daughters in the common folk are rarely so..." She then added, "You must uphold justice for me!"
As she spoke, Ding Yun dabbed at the corners of her eyes with tears she had just managed to squeeze out, looking incredibly wronged.
The elderly are naturally soft-hearted and even more pitying of the younger generation. Coupled with the thought that her own grandsons had married wives who were well-matched, of similar age, or even younger than them, yet her own granddaughter, after marrying a short-lived emperor in his forties, and now that her own family was the imperial clan and she a princess, still had to marry someone in his forties.
Combined with Ding Yun's considerable emotional expressiveness, the Empress Dowager naturally felt even more pity for Ding Yun and immediately slammed the armrest of her chair forcefully, her voice raising considerably: "Enough! Has our family stooped so low as to sell our daughters to appease others? The previous marriage was to an emperor, there was no choice. Now our family is the royal family, and we still have to be coerced by this so-called Duke of Jin? You must marry a daughter to him? If that's the case, what's the point of you being emperor? Is there any difference between being emperor and not?"
"I tell you, I do not agree with this. Also, stop thinking about bestowing marriage upon A'Luan. As long as A'Luan does not agree, we will certainly not agree. If you were to find some talented young man like a top scholar, fine. But you always pick out the riff-raff. If you dislike A'Luan, just say so. Don't insult her indirectly!"
"She has already fulfilled her duty of alliance."
"Mother, how can you say that? Duke Jin is a Duke of the realm, he cannot be considered riff-raff. His noble title is of super-grade, and his wife is a super-grade imperial consort. If she were to find a top or second-ranked scholar, with bad luck, she might not even reach a third-grade imperial consort by the time she dies of old age. How can this be considered harming her? This is clearly for her own good."
After refuting her a few times with dissatisfaction, Dugu Xiao continued, "Besides, do you think she's easy to marry? If she were just a Grand Princess, then of course there would be many who would seek her hand and wish to be her consort. But don't forget. She has a daughter with imperial lineage from the previous dynasty. And she was previously married to Emperor Ling of the previous dynasty. With these two circumstances combined, Mother, do you think anyone would truly dare to propose marriage to her? If I don't bestow marriage upon her, who would be willing to marry her? If I were to have her daughter declared dead, she wouldn't agree. If she didn't have that daughter, things would be a little better. So, heaven knows, Mother, I am truly doing this for her own good, not trying to harm her. This ungrateful girl is truly like a dog biting Lü Dongbin, unappreciative of good intentions."
In fact, there was some truth to his words. Marrying a woman who was formerly an emperor's wife, and who also had a daughter with imperial lineage from the previous dynasty, was no different from bringing a ticking time bomb home. Any family that valued their lives would not want to be associated with anything related to the previous dynasty. Even the emperor's daughter was no exception, because when the emperor was alive, there might have been some affection between father and daughter, but once the emperor passed away, the affection between siblings would wane considerably. A generation further down, the connection would be even weaker. If the current regime took a disliking to them, they could easily be accused of treason.
"This, there is indeed some truth to it. However, don't always introduce people she dislikes. Since you are bestowing marriage, at least pick someone good for her, someone she will be satisfied with. I don't believe anyone would dare to refuse! A'Luan told me her thoughts. Come, sit down, I will tell you in detail what A'Luan desires. You can find someone for her based on these criteria later. Firstly, the person must be young..."
Although the Empress Dowager was vaguely persuaded by her son Dugu Xiao, fortunately, Ding Yun was paying close attention to the details and promptly tugged at her sleeve. Only then did the Empress Dowager immediately recall her promise to her granddaughter and that she couldn't go back on her word. So, without even waiting to eat, she pulled her son down to sit and began to repeat Ding Yun's previous requests, such as how her appearance should be, her talent, that she couldn't be too old, couldn't be married, couldn't already have concubines, and other miscellaneous conditions. By the time the Empress Dowager finished, Dugu Xiao was already on the verge of rolling his eyes. But he still managed to maintain his composure. He then pouted and looked helplessly at Ding Yun: "Mother, you indulge all her absurd conditions. Is she looking for a husband? She's clearly making things difficult for me!"
"Come, come, let me explain it to you clearly."