It takes everything in Yuying not to freak out.
The Imperial Palace is even grander and more majestic on the inside than it looks on the outside. It's so spacious and massive that Yuying thinks it may even be around the size of her university campus.
Yuying honestly can't believe that she's actually walking in a place like this. It feels as though she'd been sucked right into one of her favorite ancient Chinese online fiction, like Joy of Life (Qing Yu Nian) or Heaven's Official Blessing (Tian Guan Ci Fu).
Yuying furrows her brows as she thinks about her circumstances.
/Well, I'm not too far off, am I?/
/I still don't know how I ended up here./
/And I still definitely have no idea what this place is.../
Yuying has scanned through all of the Chinese literature, Chinese history, even Chinese online fiction that she'd ever read in her entire life. She'd ruled out going back to the past as this universe didn't seem to be any of the ancient Chinese dynasties that she'd read about.
However, it didn't seem to be something that she'd read about in Chinese literature or Chinese online fiction, either. She'd never read about a world in which a Zhao Dynasty exists, whereby characters such as Ming'er, Chen Jun, Ruofei, and the others thrive amidst a blend of an ancient Chinese and cultivation.
Yuying furrowed her brows. She'd racked her brains thoroughly, but nothing has come up. This world isn't familiar to her at all.
/Maybe it's a piece of Chinese literature or Chinese online fiction that I just haven't read yet.../
/That sounds pretty much impossible, considering that I've pretty much purged the shelves of Webnovel, Bilibili Comics, Netease Comics, and pretty much every Chinese online fiction site there is out there./
/Then again, as much as I've read, there are probably still billions and billions of webnovels and webcomics out there that I haven't read.../
Yuying feels a shudder run down her spine as she glances up at the azure blue sky. All of the buildings here are so striking that they look like they have a permanent Instagram filter that's perpetually over them. Even the sky, the sun, and the clouds are no exception. They look like they'd come alive from a beautifully-drawn Chinese ink painting.
Yes, a beautifully-drawn Chinese ink painting.
That's pretty much a TL;DR of what the whole place looks like.
Yuying sucks in a deep breath.
/Pull yourself together, Yuying.../
/Don't start freaking out or fangirling.../
/This is supposed to be your home, for God's sake...!/
"So, Big Brother," Mingsan suddenly breaks the silence as he grins at Yuying.
Yuying jumps slightly. She'd been so in awe of her surroundings that she'd momentarily forgotten about the other man walking beside her.
She didn't want to admit it, but she'd been lowkey channeling the main character energy that she'd always wanted to exude while walking down the path in between the brilliant structures that loomed over her.
After all, Yuying'd never felt like the main character her entire life.
The only time that Yuying could be one, or rather, pretend to be one, was when she wrote her fanfics, when she placed herself in their shoes. She would consider the character's personalities and how they would most probably react, as well as her own opinions and thoughts when it came to writing about their next move.
As such, Yuying had a fair share of agency in her fanfics.
It'd always been a brief respite from harsh reality for her.
However, it was different in this world.
Yuying didn't know Ming'er, not like she knew Harry Potter, or Charles Xavier, or Yuri Katsuki, or Wei Wuxian...you get the point.
Rather than merely hand-holding the main character and influencing how they act and behave while taking their unique personalities into consideration, Yuying had full control over Ming'er now that she was in his body.
"Hello? Earth to Big Brother?" Mingsan furrowed his brows as he waved his hand in front of Yuying. "Did you hear what I just said?"
"Huh?" Yuying shook her head as she internally chided herself for zoning out once again. "Uh, no, I'm sorry..." she apologized sheepishly, "I'm feeling a little tired today."
"Really?" Mingsan snorts, "I find that really hard to believe. You're never tired, Big Brother. Do you still remember how you whooped Mingsi's ass during our sword-fighting class immediately after recovering from a high fever?"
"It was so epic," Mingsan whistles, "Teacher Dao told you not to come and told you to rest and take the next few days off, but you just wouldn't listen!"
/Wow./
/Really, Ming'er?/
/Seems like this guy is pretty strong and good at sword-fighting. Just as capable as he is stubborn./
"What can I say? I'm getting old," Yuying jokes as she pretends to groan and place her hand on her back as though it was killing her.
"You're literally only 18," Mingsan deadpans as he nudges Yuying. "Besides, you can't die, not just yet! You've still got a wife to choose later on."
"A wife?"
Yuying immediately shoots up at this.
"Um, yeah?" Mingsan furrows his brows at her in confusion, "Isn't that what The Choosing is all about?"
Yuying doesn't reply. She's too stunned by this revelation to say anything.
It's all starting to make sense.
/The Choosing.../
Yuying widens her eyes in realization. She's seen this quite a few times in the Chinese online fiction that she'd read. She beats herself up internally for not catching onto what it means earlier.
/It's literally a choosing./
/Choosing a wife, that is./
"Anyway, we're here." Mingsan grins. He'd brought Yuying to a little house within the compound of the Imperial Palace. "Go on, the stylist is already waiting inside."
"W-Where are you gonna be?" Yuying couldn't help but stutter. She'd just realized the gravity of the situation and is incredibly nervous.
"Relax, I'll just be helping the father, mother, and the rest of the palace staff set up," Mingsan reassures Yuying as he pats her on the back. "Are you alright, Big Brother? You seem a little pale."
"U-Uh, yeah, I'm okay," Yuying replies rather unconvincingly. "L-Like I said, I'm just feeling a little tired today. I probably didn't sleep too well or something. The long journey didn't help either."
"If you say so," Mingsan shrugs, "Anyway, it's alright. The stylist will be able to cover up those dark circles under your eyes and make you look a little less pale. I just hope that you're strong enough to be able to stand up for two or three hours straight, though."
"T-Two or three hours?!" Yuying blurts out indignantly. She can't help herself even though she knows that it was normal for styling to take this long in ancient Chinese times. Heck, it can take just as long, or even longer, in the modern world where she's from too.
Yuying's just really not too keen on another leg workout, especially not when she'd climbed the longest flight of stairs that she'd ever seen in her entire life just twenty minutes or so ago.
"Good luck, Big Brother," Mingsan chuckles as he winks at Yuying, "I can't wait to see you out of these sleep clothes that you should've been out of a long time ago," he places a hand on Yuying's shoulder, "You're gonna look so smashing that the ladies are gonna be competing for your attention even more than they already are."
Before Yuying can even say anything, Mingsan walks right up to the little house, nods at the two Imperial Guards standing on either side of the door, and opens it.
"Stylist Feng," he greets, "Second Prince Zhao is here."
Mingsan then turns to Yuying and grins at her. Yuying takes this as her cue to enter.
As unwilling as Yuying is to step inside, considering that she'd only just realized what this is all about, she has no choice but to oblige.
/I'm going to be choosing a wife.../
/For Ming'er...!/
/This feels wrong.../
/This feels so, so wrong.../
/How can I possibly choose a wife for someone whom I barely even know...?!/
/What if I make the wrong choice?/
/What if I choose a lady that he doesn't like?/
/What if I ruin his future altogether.../
Yuying feels immense pressure weighing on her shoulders.
She knows just how big of a deal marriage is.
She's well aware of how it may affect Ming'er and his future.
Yuying just wants to drop everything and shout at the top of her lungs. She wants to confess that she's not Ming'er, that she's not a prince, that she's not even from this world.
However, Yuying knows that she can't.
She has to follow through and go along with everything.
Yuying doesn't even know whether or not she'll be back in her own body when this is all over.
Yuying doesn't know what will happen next.
She's terrified.
"I'll see you later, Big Brother," he hums. He waves at Ming'er and shoots him a thumbs-up before he turns to leave. "I'll be right here."
Yuying is so nervous that she could barely manage a wave back.
She watches him disappear into the distance as the doors shut in front of her.
...
The sky is much darker than it'd been by the time Yuying stumbles out of the house.
Yuying'd been standing up for so long that she's surprised that her legs hadn't given way. Her face is caked with so much makeup that she can actually feel like she'd put on a few pounds.
Thankfully, the new robes that Yuying was clad in weren't as heavy as she'd thought they would be. She was wearing a long, pearl-white robe that had intricate gold and silver patterns that ran from her torso to the hem of her robe adorning it. The material was so high-quality and exquisite that it protected her from the cold despite being relatively thin.
Yuying long, dark hair was styled into a neat, high ponytail, nicely secured with a long matching white ribbon with similar gold and silver patterns on it. The stylist had combed her hair and pulled it up so high that Yuying had to grit her teeth just so that she wouldn't grimace.
Contrary to what he'd said earlier, Mingsan was nowhere in sight. Yuying supposes that he must still be busy helping out with the preparations for The Choosing.
Oh, right.
The Choosing.
Yuying still hasn't quite come to terms with the fact that she was going to be picking a wife for a prince that she barely knew in just a few hours' time.
She sighs.
Yuying decides to explore the area since Mingsan isn't here yet. Besides, she needs some time alone to process everything that was going on. Especially since she'd been bombarded by the presence of the stylist and her assistants for the past two or three hours.
And so, Yuying walks through the beautiful buildings once again. They suddenly don't seem as striking as they'd been to her before. Yuying doesn't know if it's because the sky is darker now or if she's just worried about what was to come. Or both.
Yuying doesn't know how long for and where she'd been walking towards when she comes across a lake and a pavilion.
It reminds her of Yunnan Garden, the Chinese garden back at her university in Singapore.
Yuying finds momentary comfort just from the sight of it. As such, she decides to approach it.
As she gets closer, Yuying realizes that she's not alone.
There's a young man at the pavilion, gazing out into the lake.
That's not what catches Yuying's attention, though.
The man is sitting in a wheelchair.