Emperor Long Feng
(Yan Yikuan)
The banquet hall is all abuzz but upon the arrival of Emperor Long Feng, Empress Huihuang and Imperial Noble Consort Mei, everyone went back to their respective seats and gave their bows to the Emperor and his beloved consorts. It is quite well known throughout the 3 Kingdoms that Emperor Long Feng loves both of his consorts equally but Empress Huihuang is much more special to him as she once nearly dies when unselfishly using her body as a shield to protect Imperial Noble Consort Mei and Princess Long Hua. Plus, earlier in their royal marriage, she gave such a hard time to the Emperor to run around in search for her whereabouts but, he loves her for being such a challenge for him.
The Empress is a woman of her own right, her power and influence are of the same level as the Emperor himself. There are 2 teams in the royal court, team Emperor and team Empress. Everyone thought that the Empress will hate Imperial Noble Consort Mei and Princess Long Hua, but she had once said to the Emperor, "Women in the palace are sad creatures really... Their whole life is to fight with one another for one man's affection. I do not want to fight. Each should earn equal respect and love from that man."
In other words, Imperial Noble Consort Mei is one of her people, team Empress. Hence, a peaceful back palace without any evil plans or backstabbing and any sorts. The emperor still let his beloved wives do whatever they wanted to do as long as they are happy.
"Happy wives mean happy and peaceful life for this Emperor" he once said in front of his ministers as if he is rubbing it into their faces.
Not that Prime Minister Bing Xi ever bother about it as he only has one wife. After all, both he and the Emperor know that the one that Imperial Noble Consort Mei loves most is the Empress. Still, they must admit that the Emperor is right after all as both the Empress and the Imperial Noble Consort have been living in harmony for all these years. Ultimately, the Emperor is the cunning one after all. The Emperor decided to only have 2 women in the palace as his Empress and Imperial Noble Consort after that one incident happened years ago where the back palace used to have more than just the Empress and the Imperial Noble Consort. Both are treated equally but the Empress is treated with utmost respect by him as she is not only beautiful but very kind (with a bit of cunning streak), generous and wise as well. Plus, he cannot risk having her run away from the imperial palace like she always did in the past. Not even once she ever had any evil intention towards others but, she has been treating her husband according to her whim.
Imperial Noble Consort Mei, on the other hand, respected the Empress and treated her like her own sister. Empress Huihuang even insisted that she should only call her as "older sister" even in front of the others. She is very thankful that since the first day she entered the imperial palace, she has been treated with nothing but utmost care by the royal couple. Everyone respected her as the Empress told them not to ever slight her in any way. For living a comfortable life without any worries and having the care and love from the Emperor himself is a tremendous blessing for her. Even the Crown Prince treats her with respect. But the Crown Princess treated her in a cold manner. She can only sigh whenever she thinks about the Crown Princess. Such a lovely girl but destructive in all sort of ways. She feels pity towards the Empress as she knew that the Empress is getting all sorts of stress over the past few years due to her spoilt daughter.
"She is indeed a daughter of mine" the Empress had once said to her in a joking manner.
The Empress has even fainted when she knew that her daughter had fallen into the pond. The Emperor was so devastated then. He was afraid that something will happen to his beloved Empress and Crown Princess. During that period, they are told to stay outside the imperial palace but, without fail, Imperial Noble Consort Mei made a daily visit to the nearby temple to pray for the wellbeing of Crown Princess Long Fenghuang. She also prays that her own daughter will not be implicated in the process as well.
Official outfits for the Emperor and Empress.
Imperial Noble Consort Mei's outfit for the banquet.