I’m supposed to be doing hw but who cares about that. All I can think about is the legendary love story of Emperor Lan Wangji and his empress Wei Wuxian. It gets passed down through the whole of China! Changing occasionally depending on each village it reaches and losing some of its credibility the farther it goes, but as far as passed down love stories go, this one is pretty accurate!
Past the major cities like Lanling and Yunmeng and into the tinier, more rural areas, on a day of celebration, the townspeople gather about and tell outstanding and grand tales about Hanguang-Jun and his amazing feats as a prince and as an Emperor. It is his birthday, after all, and the citizens truly do love their emperor, whose rule is strict but gentle and intelligent. As sweet pork buns and osthamus cakes go through the crowd, they talk about his heroics on the battle field, about his clashes with the tyrannical Wens and eventual defeat of them, showing exactly the night of the Lan Empire. They shower their emperor in praises through sweet baijiu.
But never a tale about their emperor comes without his lovely empress to follow, for those two never part. Their story is one of a love match, a truly rarity in imperial history, especially one of the emperor, of all people. The people live to tell it.
Well, now, whether or not they tell the right one consistently, is the hardest part. Not much is known about Empress Wei Wuxian, whose presence was both sudden and unexpected to many. Some say talk of him as an ordinary mortal, simply an average nobleman whose beauty and wit eventually enraptured Lan Wangji. Destined to be together by the fates, they fell into each other’s arms throughout their youth, falling in love with every quirk and flaw until Lan Wangji could not stand it any longer and begged Wei Wuxian to be his. They married quickly, despite the protests of the courts, marking them a love story of the century.
But sometimes that tale is overshadowed by a more fantastical one! Wei Wuxian, some citizens whisper among themselves, was a minor god sent down from the heavens to guide the Lans in their war against the Wens. Wei Wuxian was only meant to stay for a short duration, to ensure smooth operations as a blessing for the Lans and their fair rule, when he did the unexpected—fell in love with the very Emperor he was sworn to guide. He was seduced by the mortal and gave up his status upon the end of the war to marry Lan Wangji and build a mortal life with him. To love so deeply...
No matter what origins the people envision Wei Wuxian with, it all leads to one thing: a never ending love.
He will have no other, the Emperor demands, at the offers of concubines and maids at his feet. With that, he demolished the Imperial Harem and keeps only one spouse by his side. Despite the protests of his court, his remains stubborn, swearing to only have his empress and only his empress.
Wei Wuxian is an odd one, an Empress who remains present and not hidden. His beauty is raged over, brief glimpses of him fueling gossip for weeks. Those who stand by the god tale remain smug. And, whether you believe it or not, the Empress is stunning, a figure of both alluring beauty and bright demeanor. His eyes are always glimmering with mirth, reflecting under the gentle night the silvery ashes of the moon, and his hair falls past his waist in a rainfall of earthy chestnuts and thick waves. He dresses in as much simplicity as warranted for an imperial member, running about with robes that mirror the soft colors of the Lan with the hints of vermillion accents that the people cannot find the origins of. Light jewelry decorates his person, rarely anything to restrict him and merely to accentuate his delicate beauty—flashes of red jade, gestures of diamonds, and a gold-embroidered crimson ribbon.
Very few can claim to know him, but those who have encountered the Empress describe him as joyful, attractive, and endearing. His presence never fails to make anyone smile, EVEN the Emperor himself.
Just like all empires do, the Lans eventually fall and those after them do as well until the 21st century hits free of an emperor or his imperial empire. But even so, the stories live on through television shows and movies, and if the occasional portrayal of the Empress makes a certain man wearing an unusual red ribbon giggle as he snuggles into the embrace of his quiet but gentle partner, well, everyone is a critic these days.